True Heritage
by DragonSummoning
Summary: Naruto's field trip with Jiraiya took a particular twist as a truly special information leads them into an allegedly destroyed place; at the same time, Hinata is being sent there against her Clan's decision... Rated M for safety.
1. Hopes

A/N: Hello, readers. Maybe you'll remember me from the story called 'Leaves in the Whirlpool'. Unluckily, I've completely disliked that story, as I've read it so far, and I decided to make a new one. I rescued some of the ideas from 'Leaves…', as I liked them a lot, but I decided to make them more realistic by translating them into the Shippūden timeline, also making them a little more interesting. Hope you enjoy this story: 'True Heritage', and don't forget to read and review, please!

**Episode 1: Hopes.**

Three years have passed since Naruto Uzumaki and Jiraiya, the Toad Sage, left the Hidden Leaf Village in order to make an intensive training.

From Jiraiya's point of view, the world had been turning dark and tense lately. Every hidden village had kept itself locked up beneath their walls, as if there was a sense of war in the air. His spy network had given him enough information to arm the puzzle, but there was something missing still: Orochimaru's actual plans and Akatsuki's sudden disappearance.

From Naruto's point of view, leaving the Hidden Leaf Village _and_ the Fire Country was one of the most nutritive things for his soul, even when he ended up learning that the world wasn't exactly better than the Hidden Leaf, which had been so bitter with him during the twelve years he actually lived there. So far, he had received only a few letters and a small gift: a blanket with his face woven in high detail in colored threads; they all came from the same person, the only person who seemed to care for him truthfully, and not out of pity or any hidden agenda. The only thing he couldn't understand of that: this person wasn't Sakura, the only girl in the Hidden Leaf he dealt with on a regular basis. _'I know that I have no chance with her, after the mission in which Sasuke almost killed me, but now I wonder if she'll even remember me at all…'_

On the other side, Naruto had been learning quite a lot of things from Jiraiya. He had learned a lot of things about stealth and spy games, and he also had been dealing with chakra control at very advanced levels, something that neither the Ninja Academy nor Kakashi, his team's assigned Jōnin, was willing to do. He had been learning how to deal with Genjutsu, being able to manage his huge chakra reserves into dispelling up to C-rank Genjutsu without damaging his body in the process. He had been learning quite a lot of things about the different use of the Shadow Clones, and he had been learning quite a lot about the natural affinities of the chakra, already discovering that his main chakra affinity was with the Air.

Jiraiya seemed to want to teach a lot to Naruto lately, since a letter from the Hidden Leaf came to him. When Naruto tried to read it, Jiraiya burned it, and when he asked him about the note's contents, he just said:

"You'll know that in due time, kid. Learn to have patience, as that is a ninja's best tool."

Naruto, unlike anything else he had heard so far from anyone who had taught him anything, treasured those words like solid gold, even more when he realized who was the only person in the Hidden Leaf who seemed to care about him and who seemed to like him for real.

Now, as they resumed their travels, they got slowly closer to a huge island, which seemed to be surrounded by turbulent seas and strong tidal waves. Jiraiya said, as he looked something moving in the skies:

"Well, my godson, you'll visit this last place before returning to the Leaf."

Naruto seemed to have his sight totally drawn to the island, not even noticing that a messenger hawk from the Hidden Leaf had posed itself in Jiraiya's right forearm, allowing him to receive a letter that he read thoroughly. He just asked, completely focused on the island:

"Ok, and which place is this?"

Jiraiya noticed the plain voice tone of Naruto and asked, feeding the hawk that was still in his arm:

"Something troubling you?"

Naruto looked deep into the island and said:

"I can't tell exactly, but I just find it utterly familiar, umm, this place…"

Jiraiya laughed soundly, drawing Naruto out of focus:

"Ha, ha, ha! You've never been there, but your blood recognizes it already, brat! That's good!"

Naruto asked, curious:

"My blood? What do you mean, Pervy Sage?"

Jiraiya said, grinning:

"That, my godson, is the Hidden Whirlpool Village, located here, in the Land of Eddies, where Clan Uzumaki resides."

Naruto's eyes opened wide at these words, asking slowly:

"Clan… Uzumaki?! W-What do you mean, Pervy Sage?"

Jiraiya pushed Naruto with eagerness and said:

"You'll find out soon enough! Let's go!"

Naruto started walking forward, while Jiraiya wrote a note and put it in the hawk's pocket, sending it to fly back to the Hidden Leaf. After this, he yelled at Naruto, who had already taken distance:

"Hey! It'll take us three to four days to get there!"

Naruto pouted:

"Three to four days?!"

"I need to confirm the village's situation with my spies around the village before we rush in. Also, they'll announce our presence in there. And you're not being patient."

Naruto sighed:

"Ok, fine. I guess you're right: those spies of yours are quite the thing…"

Jiraiya nodded with a smirk and both walked to the first town that surrounded the large island.

* * *

A day later, in the Hidden Leaf Village, a young girl, perhaps sixteen years old, walked towards the Hokage's tower. Her dark-blue hair was long enough to cover her whole back, her lilac pupil-less eyes reflected seriousness, but deep inside, they showed a hint of sorrow, as if something was missing from her life. Her expression, apparently hardened by the Hyūga Clan standards, still revealed a sweet sadness that would never abandon her, and a hint of wrath, as she was wildly forced to abandon her hopes of having the person she loved by her side, even being forced to break contact with him. Her beautifully developed body revealed nice curves, proportionally-sized breasts and backside, and a perfectly-maintained velvet skin covered by a dark-blue mini-dress with extra-large white sleeves and blue knee-long zōri. She wore her standard blue Leaf headband in her neck, as usual, and she had her shuriken holster on her right leg and her utility pouches on her lower back, that meaning that she was on duty.

As she finally reached the Hokage's office, she had found the big-breasted blond woman sitting behind the wooden desk. This woman looked at her with concerned eyes, while at the same time she read a letter, and the girl noticed the messenger hawk standing in her window sill. The girl asked, politely, and using the plainest voice she could use:

"Did you call for me, Lady Tsunade?"

Tsunade Senju, the Fifth Hokage, smiled at her:

"Lock the door, Hinata Hyūga, and sit down. We need to talk."

Hinata Hyūga obeyed silently. Tsunade had been watching how the shy and sweet Hinata Hyūga had been, slowly and forcefully, falling into the Hyūga mold of behavior and image. Even so, Tsunade was one to look 'underneath the underneath' (basically she was _still_ Hokage because of that), and she was also skilled at reading people, and she could quickly find out all of the pain she was keeping buried in her heart. As she read the second letter, realizing that her plans were going well, she said, smiling at Hinata:

"Hinata, I've got a mission for you."

Hinata, as formal as expected from a Hyūga, said:

"Should I call for Team 8, Lady Tsunade?"

"No, this is a solo mission for you."

Hinata was a lot shocked by Tsunade's affirmation, her hardly acquired 'Hyūga mask' completely broken. _'Damn it! She's breaking my mask intentionally! If I'm caught under this situation they'll brand me!'_

"A-And, how is that, Lady Hokage? H-How come you're s-sending me alone into a m-mission?"

'_And now I'm stuttering back again! This goes down the hill!'_ Tsunade smiled again:

"Do not worry; this office is Byakugan-protected. You can be yourself now."

'_She knows that my behavior isn't real?'_

"O-Ok, Lady Hokage." As Hinata lowered her head a bit, she asked: "W-What's this mission about?"

Tsunade said, giving Hinata a sealed scroll:

"You'll be sent to an X-rank location and deliver this scroll to this address. You must be able to get there in less than two days, and there you'll meet who will become your new teammate from now on, so forget about Team 8."

Hinata was scared now:

"F-Forget about T-Team 8?"

Tsunade winked an eye to her:

"Yes. I actually think you'll feel a lot more comfortable and happier with the boy who will team up with you."

Hinata flushed deep red, making Tsunade laugh at her expense. _'Who could this teammate be?'_ She just asked:

"When should I leave?"

Tsunade turned serious:

"Now. I'll go with you to the gates, to make sure no one follows you."

Hinata lowered her head in shame:

"My Clan always knows where I am…" She took her dress up, revealing tight black shorts and a perfect belly with a seal shaped like an eye on it. "I've been marked, so all I do, see, perceive and even think can be seen by them."

Tsunade growled at the seal and bit her finger, dripping blood, and then she made hand seals, summoning a small slug, this one not colored in blue and white but in green and white. She said:

"Midori, can you deal with this seal?"

The slug replied:

"Right away, young princess."

As the slug quickly jumped to Hinata's belly, the Hyūga girl asked, being completely scared:

"B-But, Lady Hokage! Y-You're breaking the Clans Law Code!"

Tsunade grinned back at her, tossing a book at her. As Hinata caught it, she realized it was titled: 'Clans Law Code for the Hidden Leaf Village'.

"Article 27, paragraph 3."

Hinata just read the section indicated by the Hokage loudly:

"'Any Clan measures can be dissolved promptly by the Hokage if they interfere with a ninja's capabilities for a mission, with no need to ask for authorization from the Clan itself.' But, how could this be, Lady Hokage? How could you justify s-such a measure?"

"Yes, you better explain that. Why sending my daughter instead of sending a Branch Hyūga?"

Hiashi Hyūga's voice filled the Hokage's office, as he quickly Body Flickered to Tsunade's office. Tsunade, knowing Hiashi's attitude as Clan Head for the Hyūga and Hinata's father, simply smirked at him:

"She must be completely free of marks or seals for this mission, **young** Hiashi, because the place where I'm sending her is an X-rank secret that keeps us safe as long as it is kept as a secret, and they suspect of anyone who enters there with any kind of seal in their bodies. Any Clan or ninja other than her knowing of this will only cause a huge mess to the Leaf's safety, because I know she can keep secrets, but you all can't."

Hiashi replied, keeping cool:

"There are two holes in that story. First, there's no such thing as an 'X-rank' secret-"

Tsunade interrupted dryly:

"There **is**, and you know it."

Hiashi felt challenged:

"Try me."

Tsunade simply said:

"_You_ are an X-rank secret, due to your issues with the Hidden Cloud Village. Naruto's family heritage is an X-rank secret that could lead us to a new war against the Hidden Rock Village."

Hiashi gulped then. Remembering the old issue between the Hyūga Clan and the Hidden Cloud Village was unpleasant; and Tsunade recalling it that way felt a lot more like a scolding. Also, if it wasn't for her being the Hokage, Hiashi would have reclaimed her about her disrespectful behavior… but she was right in the end and he knew it. After muttering something that Tsunade heard, Hiashi said:

"Second, how is it that a place we don't know about can keep us safe?"

Tsunade laughed soundly, making Hiashi break his Hyūga mask with a frown and making Hinata fearful:

"That Hyūga mask of yours is reducing your thought capabilities, **young** Hiashi." Tsunade liked to see how Hiashi got irritated by the way she called him 'young': "It's pretty obvious: if we don't 'know' about them, lest of all talk about them, then no one can link them to us, and they can keep us safe without anyone noticing it. Basic military strategy knowledge." After seeing Hiashi's anger rise, she said: "As they are in a situation in which they need to know_ we_ trust them, they asked us for two Leaf ninjas to share training with them. One is already getting there, and the other one is your first daughter, so, the watching seal, and any other marks she might have must disappear. Are we clear?"

Hiashi looked at Tsunade with deep anger in his eyes:

"And, what if they want the Byakugan?"

Tsunade smirked:

"If they wanted it, believe me that they would have gotten it decades ago. No seals, unless you want to face charges for treason and disobedience to the Law Code. It's your call."

Hiashi stood up out of rage, scaring Hinata:

"You won't stop me from protecting my bloodline!"

Hiashi armed hand seals like the wind, quickly drawing chakra and placing his hands on Hinata's forehead. For the moment he did that, he realized it was too late for him to see how Hinata was surrounded by a brilliant green chakra, himself feeling a huge surge of chakra entering his hands, them being unable to draw chakra. He then saw how his whole chakra circulatory system was blocked in a way even unknown for a Hyūga. He yelled then, completely out of control:

"This won't stay like this! You won't get away with it!"

Tsunade saw Hiashi leave and waited until he slammed the door and walked away. She then said:

"Hinata Hyūga, let's go! We must leave before the Hyūgas start shuffling around you like vultures." Turning to see the slug, she asked: "Midori, how could you do with the seal?"

The slug replied:

"This seal is quite tough to remove. I've only been able to distort its effects."

Tsunade nodded and took Hinata's hand, pulling her down the office's windows. Quickly, they reached the eastern gate, and, as it was opened, Hinata asked:

"S-Should I go without g-gathering supplies?"

Tsunade drew a rather large wad of ryō notes from her shirt's cleavage and said:

"This should be enough for you to head to the closest town to the northeast and buy you whatever you might need. You could get there in an hour."

Hinata took the cash and put it in her left pouch. She asked then:

"And, what about my f-family"

Tsunade smirked:

"I'll deal with them. They think they can play politics, but I'm a Senju, so I know a lot more than them in that field."

Hinata asked:

"And, for how long should I stay in this X-rank location?"

"Forever. Your new teammate will be there for you, and I'm sure you'll love him. Also, you'll develop a lot better as a Hyūga, as a kunoichi, and as a woman, there at the Hidden Whirlpool Village." This made Hinata's eyes open wide. _'Wasn't that ninja village burned to the ground several decades ago?'_ "Now, go! You've got two days to get there!"

Hinata hesitated for a second, but Tsunade reassured her:

"We'll see each other again, and sooner than you think, Hinata. Now, go."

Hinata quickly hugged the Hokage and ran away, Tsunade checking out that she'd leave safely. Once she vanished in the horizon of trees, the Hokage prayed for the young Hyūga girl and returned to her office. Dealing with Clans in political issues was always messy, and the Hyūga were particularly troublesome in that field.

* * *

Back at the land of Eddies, two days later, as Naruto woke up, he saw Jiraiya dismounting the camp they had armed for the night. Naruto saw how Jiraiya stared at a rather large bridge, the only thing that communicated the island to solid ground. He asked:

"What is it, Pervy Sage?"

Jiraiya replied:

"We've already been announced, brat. We're moving into the Hidden Whirlpool…" After taking another glance at the bridge, Jiraiya saw a figure heading towards it, a figure he had recognized after a letter he had received last night: "…but now I guess I'll leave you in the capable hands of your new teammate. Go, kid, go meet her."

Naruto started walking towards the coming figure, but then he decided to turn around and say cautiously, as he recalled the words 'go meet _her_':

"Don't tell me that you're going to sneak up on me and use me for your smut novels!"

Jiraiya stated:

"You're too dense in your treatment with women still, brat, so you're worthless for my artistic labor. Now, go."

Naruto growled and headed to the bridge. Once he got there, he got delighted by the beauty he saw heading his way. Her legs were well-toned, knee-long zōri covering them, her well-proportioned body covered by a dark-blue mini-dress with white sleeves that covered her hands, her dark-blue hair long and silky, and her lilac eyes staring at nothing in particular. _'Wait a moment… dark-blue hair, lilac eyes, hot as hell…'_ He yelled:

"HINATA!"

Hinata, who walked towards the bridge, suddenly noticed a voice that shattered her Hyūga façade for good in less than a second. She quickly could associate that voice to a tall, well-toned blond guy who wore a black-and-orange jumpsuit. _'Is it him? C-Could it be?'_

"N-Naruto-kun?!"

As Naruto ran quickly and merrily towards her, Hinata's thoughts raced like hell. _'M-My new t-teammate will be N-Naruto-kun! I-I'll be on a team, a-alone, with N-Naruto-kun! I-I…'_ Suddenly, she lost her breathing, her eyes closed and her body failed.

As Hinata woke up, she felt like she was floating. As she looked, she found herself being carried bridal-style by Naruto. She only could ask:

"N-Naruto-kun… w-will you be my… m-my new t-teammate?"

Naruto nodded at the blushing girl and smiled:

"I guess so, and I'd love to, Hinata-_chan_…"

End of Episode 1.


	2. Truth

A/N: Here comes Episode 2! This one's a rather long episode, so I expect it not to be too boring, and I hope it settles the foundations for the whole story without leaving too many blanks. Please Read and Review, and I hope you enjoy it!

**Episode 2: Truth.**

After almost half an hour, Naruto crossed the long bridge, carrying Hinata bridal-style. Hinata, on her side, laced her arms around Naruto's neck and buried her face in it. Finally, they reached a massive gate, perhaps bigger and more solid than the Leaf's gates. Two ninjas appeared out of nowhere; sporting in their headbands the spiral symbol that Naruto wore in the sleeves of his jumpsuit:

"Report yourselves."

Hinata spoke, quickly jumping out of Naruto's arms and onto the ground:

"We are the two ninjas sent by the Hidden Leaf Village."

The first guard checked on a list and asked:

"Naruto Uzumaki and Hinata Hyūga, right?"

Naruto and Hinata nodded, and then they showed both their Hidden Leaf id cards and their Fire Country passports. As the information was verified, the second guard said:

"Very well, your identities have been confirmed. Please, be welcome to the Hidden Whirlpool Village. Feel like home. Lord Uzukage waits for you."

Both Naruto and Hinata walked inside the walls of this place, allegedly destroyed some decades ago. What they saw, once inside, marveled them.

The place was huge and well-fortified, perhaps as big as the Hidden Leaf itself. Naruto, who actually knew the Leaf as the palm of his hand, couldn't help but notice that the Hidden Whirlpool had almost the exact shape than the Leaf, and that reminded him of how he was told in the Academy that the Hidden Whirlpool Village assisted the Senju and Uchiha in the construction of the Hidden Leaf Village. There were several buildings, a huge district market, the remarkable Uzukage's tower, which also looked a lot like the Hokage's tower, and the Ninja Academy. As they walked towards the Uzukage's tower, which had the word 'swirl' written on it, they could see some Clan compounds.

Hinata was a lot surprised to see that, in the gates of one of the compounds, there was the symbol of the Hyūga Clan, but, instead of having a red flame, it had a blue flame. _'A blue flame… I've seen that before, in my mom's books…'_ Naruto, meanwhile, noticed how another compound had the symbol he carried in the sleeves of his jacket. _'Could this be the Uzumaki compound…?'_ There were at least two more compounds, but they didn't dare to detail them, as their presence was required in the Uzukage's office.

* * *

Finally, they reached the office. Outside of it, there was the secretary's desk. The secretary was a hot, blond woman with her long hair curled up, her attractive and well-proportioned body covered by a hot red mini-dress that revealed quite a lot of her legs and a nice cleavage. She also wore two shuriken holsters, one on each leg, and a utility pouch, revealing herself as a ninja.

Naruto turned to a side in order to prevent a nosebleed and to avoid all the dirty thoughts to come up his mind, courtesy of Jiraiya. _'Damn that Pervy Sage and his porn novels! Why did he have to make me read those? Damn, I hope Hinata-chan doesn't think I'm a pervert too!'_ Hinata, on the other side, looked at her and realized her own mini-dress, blushing deeply, while slowly turning her eyes to Naruto. _'Could it be that h-he'd actually like if I get dressed l-like that?'_ The secretary spoke with a graceful voice:

"You're the Leaf ninjas we've been expecting. Hi, I'm Aiko Yamashita, secretary and bodyguard to Lord Uzukage. You come to meet him?"

Hinata and Naruto, both shaken from their thoughts, turned to see Aiko. The Hyūga girl nodded and nervously gave her Tsunade's scroll. Aiko said then:

"Very well, I'll tell him of your presence."

As Aiko entered the office, Naruto asked, visibly blushed and embarrassed, after taking a deep breath in order to focus his mind into what he actually wished to ask her:

"Um, H-Hinata-chan, did you ever receive my letter?"

Hinata blushed even deeper, her face lowered in shame:

"Y-Yes, and I… I-I liked it a lot, Naruto-kun, b-but my father wouldn't allow me to keep it, even less to reply to it… I…" Hinata started crying then: "I-I'm truly sorry, Naruto-kun; I-I myself feared that I'd become another mindless and emotionless Hyūga mask if I… i-if I didn't see you soon…"

Naruto got close to her, softly squeezing her hand, and soothed her gently:

"But, you could reply to that letter now, Hinata-chan, in person… well, if you consider it prudent…"

Hinata buried her face in his chest as Naruto rounded her up with his arms. After a few seconds, she sobbed:

"I-I do feel for you, Naruto-kun, I-I always have… I… I-I love you, Naruto-kun-"

"Lord Uzukage is ready to receive you, kids."

Aiko's voice was loud enough to startle Hinata, even when it didn't have that intention. She dried her tears and led Naruto into the office, meeting an old but obviously strong man. His long hair and beard were blood-red with hints of gray, his eyes were amethyst-colored, he wore the robes that identified him as a Kage, in white and dark-blue, the word 'Swirl' on his Hat. Both bowed before him, and he said:

"Please, lock the door and have a seat. I'd like to have a long chat with you, kids."

Naruto felt already like scolded, as every time Iruka, Kakashi or even Jiraiya told the words 'have a long chat with you' to him, it meant that he was going to be lectured about something. Hinata, on her side, she was quite at the expectative, even when her emotions still flowed. Naruto, being a gentleman, helped Hinata have her seat with great manners, sitting himself on a chair right beside her. The Uzukage said:

"First of all, I'd like to introduce myself. My name is Gendō Uzumaki, and I'm the Hidden Whirlpool's Sixth Uzukage. I already know who you are, Naruto, Hinata, as we've been watching over you so far, and I've decided to call for you two because I feel it is time to correct all the wrong doings the Leaf has done to you."

Hinata and Naruto were surprised with these words, but Gendō continued:

"I am well aware of many things the Leaf has done to you two, kids. They have lied about our present status, they have hidden information about us and about yourselves from you, and they have treated you like crap. Now, I know it is time for you to know the truth about yourselves." He waited for a few seconds and, after taking a deep breath, he asked: "As this will be quite a long chat, would you like tea and cookies?"

Naruto and Hinata felt how their stomachs sounded, Hinata blushing and pushing her index fingers together, and Naruto scratching the back of his head while laughing nervously. _'These kids are definitely members of our Whirlpool Uzumaki and Hy__ū__ga. They just behave like their mothers and clanmates.'_ He just pushed the button at his desk and called:

"Aiko-chan, please, bring us some tea and sweet cookies."

"Right away, sir."

Aiko's voice was now a lot more seductive, and both kids could notice the smug smile in Gendō's face. Gendō started then to make more general questions to them:

"Ok, Naruto, Hinata; how have you been doing there in the Hidden Leaf Village?"

Naruto asked again:

"Um, I'm not sure what you mean, Lord Uzukage."

Gendō repeated his question then:

"Well, um, what did you receive as training in the Hidden Leaf Village? How have your missions been so far? How are you ranked there in the Leaf?"

Naruto looked at Hinata and she nodded. She then said, her eyes turning glassy:

"Um, I-I have been receiving t-training in the Hyūga compound until the moment m-my f-father d-decided that I was… w-worthless for the Hyūga… s-since then, a-all I've trained has been in the A-Academy and with m-my former team's a-assigned Jōnin: Kurenai Yūhi, the G-Genjutsu Mistress of the Leaf. I-If it wasn't for her, I'd be branded right now with the C-Caged Bird seal… S-So far, m-my missions have been always in the area of s-scouting, s-so I haven't had to fight t-that much… I-I know that my f-fighting style with the G-Gentle Fist sucks, as my y-younger sister, f-five years younger than me, i-is a lot more proficient in it than me… m-my chakra reserves are too low, as, in the Hyūga Clan, I-I'm forbidden to do other training than the G-Gentle Fist… I-I was about to e-enter this year's C-Chūnin Exam, a-as, of my generation, I'm the last kunoichi left as a G-Genin…"

Gendō saw how Hinata cried hopelessly, and after seeing Naruto soothe and hug her tenderly, he had made his conclusions about her. _'The Leaf Hy__ū__ga ruined her childhood, messed with her needs of a special training, tried to turn her into a kind of Hy__ū__ga that goes completely against her nature, and all this has made that her self-confidence is completely shattered into tiny pieces. We'll have to work a lot with her in the Dream.'_ He said, in quite a comforting tone:

"It's okay, Hinata, let it all go. Now, Naruto, could you explain your situation to me?"

Naruto made a sign that he wanted to wait for Hinata's tears to end, so both respected her crying time. After a few minutes, as Hinata stopped sobbing and dried her tears, Aiko entered with a couple of plates. One had a rather large teapot and three cups, and the other one had a large amount of chocolate and marmalade cookies. Naruto was focused enough on Hinata to not notice how Aiko's walking turned, all of a sudden, a lot more seductive and playful, drawing Gendō's attention to her, and winking an eye to him as she left:

"If you need anything else, just call me, boss."

The door was shut, and as Hinata recovered herself, Naruto spoke:

"Ok, now it is my turn. Come here, Hinata-chan, grab some tea and cookies, they'll sweeten you a bit more, heh, heh."

Hinata smiled at Naruto's gesture and giggled a bit, grabbing the teapot and serving the three cups of tea with grace and beauty. Naruto spoke then:

"Well, if Hinata's life has been hard, you can imagine mine. I've never met my parents, as they apparently died the day I was born. The whole village has tried to kill me during my childhood, because they confused me with my 'guest', the Nine-Tailed Fox."

Gendō was utterly surprised by this. _'The Leaf has been using my family as forced hosts for Lord Kurama?'_ Naruto continued:

"Because of that, I've had almost everything against me. No one would want to teach me a thing in the Academy, every time teaching me things the wrong way so I'd desist from becoming a ninja; only one teacher was good enough to see past the Fox and try to teach me, but it was kind of late, as this only happened during my last year at the Academy; then, after I graduated as Genin, not without the people's disapproval, I was placed in the same team as the last Uchiha, Sasuke, and because of that my Jōnin instructor, Kakashi Hatake, thought that he was the only one worth training until he decided to betray our village and join Orochimaru and his Hidden Sound Village. I've fought terrible individuals as Orochimaru and his minions, the host of the One-Tailed Beast and even a couple of members from Akatsuki, and so far no one seems to wish to recognize my efforts, giving my few successes to Sasuke or to whoever was more suitable by those times. Even so, I've made friends after struggling to death, and I've received training from Jiraiya, the Toad Sage, the only one who has been willing to train me in anything. Even after a three-year field trip with him, I've remained as Genin, as I've been running away from Akatsuki, who tries to get at me in order to put their hands on the Fox. Actually, this is the first time that I hear that there is a Clan Uzumaki, so you can guess that I know nothing about my bloodline. So far, and even with the actual Hokage's true support, the village treats me either as a demon or as a weapon to be used for war."

Gendō was completely upset with Naruto's story, basically because he had just confirmed the Uzukage's suspicions and acquired information on him so far. He'd have to teach the Leaf a lesson, no matter if they were his allies still. Naruto's rage was also noticed on each word, and he started crying too. Hinata fought herself fiercely in an inner debate, but she could defeat herself and hugged Naruto, doing her best to soothe him. Gendō let Naruto breathe and vent all of his wrath and sadness away and said:

"Well, kids, before we talk, I'd rather have you take some tea and grab some more cookies. I need you well prepared to listen to what I have to say, as it's my wish, so as Jiraiya and Tsunade Senju's, that you learn the truth about yourselves, your lineages, your skills and capabilities, and get ready to be trained and prepared to become Whirlpool Jōnin ninjas in less than a year. We won't use you as weapons, but you'll work with us in order to put order back to this world and its Five Great Nations, and to finish with those who profit from keeping the world's actual circle of hatred alive."

Naruto and Hinata nodded, having a sip of the delicious jasmine tea and having some cookies, which tasted like heaven. _'We'll have to ask miss Aiko where she bought those cookies, or that she teaches us how to make them.'_ As they ate, Gendō said:

"Let's start with you, Hinata Hyūga. You, being a Hyūga, must be quite capable of noticing details, right?" Hinata nodded, and Gendō asked: "I guess then that you could tell me the common traits in the Leaf Hyūga Clan members."

Hinata didn't need to think to answer that; even so, she waited for a couple of seconds to not make Gendō feel as if she wished to interrupt him:

"Um, well, Lord Uzukage, the c-common traits of the Leaf Hyūga are, a-as far as I've seen: d-dark-brown hair, pearl-colored eyes, a natural capability to r-restrain their own emotions, a-and a high level of egocentrism."

Gendō smiled at her:

"Very good. As far as I can see, you share none of those traits, Hinata." Hinata lowered her head in shame, but Gendō said: "But that's nothing to be ashamed of, my dear, and after a while you'll see why. Now, tell me, how does the standard Leaf Hyūga fight?"

Hinata said:

"Um, well, the Hyūga combat stance is b-based on the use of the Byakugan and the G-Gentle Fist stance. T-The Hyūga relies on its bloodline trait and chakra control in order to send s-small amounts of ch-chakra into the person's chakra nodes, intending to shut or overload a foe's chakra circulatory system. T-They usually feel so… so proud of that stance, t-that they discourage their Clan members from learning any other ninja skills…"

Gendō smiled again:

"Excellent. My guess is that you've had quite a lot of problems with the development of your Byakugan and with the practice of the Gentle Fist stance, right?" Hinata nodded. "Does it feel uncomfortable or unnatural for your body?" Hinata nodded again. "Do you feel better at fight doing some other kind of movements, like, for example, dancing?" Hinata nodded again, surprised. "Yes, you've just inherited the legacy of your mother, Hitomi Hyūga, a Whirlpool Hyūga kunoichi."

Hinata's eyes opened wide:

"A-A H-Hyūga from the Whirlpool, m-my mother? S-She never told me anything of that!"

Gendō said:

"She wasn't meant to do that until you were fit for the Ninja Academy, but I guess she died too early. I guess that you remember her being the only blue-haired, lilac-eyed Hyūga in the whole compound, right?"

Hinata nodded again, as she had never thought about it before. Gendō said, pointing to a window to his left side:

"I want you to look through this window and tell me what you see. Notice all the details, so you can realize the truth of my words."

Hinata looked out the indicated window and saw the whole Hyūga compound from inside. Hinata was surprised, as everyone inside that compound was just like her mother: different shades of blue hair, lilac eyes, their clothing fashion a lot more relaxed and casual, just like hers, but without the need to even hide their hands or their features, and they all seemed to be training skills like weapon tossing, elemental chakra, and a fighting style that reminded Hinata a lot to what she had always tried to train on her own. _'So it's right… I'm in the need to train all these things, unlike what my father has told me all this time…'_ Gendō looked out of that window himself and made a hand sign, a smoke cloud appearing in the Uzukage's office, and an old man, lilac-eyes, light blue-and-white hair, a white, long-sleeved shirt and baggy black pants, appeared right beside Naruto. He said:

"All right, young girl. It seems that it's my turn to start explaining things so far. May I take her to the Hyūga compound, Lord Gendō?"

Gendō nodded, and the old man guided Hinata out of the office. Naruto stayed alone with Gendō, and he said:

"Now, Naruto, it's my turn to talk to you, **my grandson**…"

Naruto looked at the Uzukage with shock:

"G-Grandson? W-What are you talking about, Lord Uzukage?"

Gendō smiled:

"Yes, you heard right. Your mother was the youngest of my twin daughters. Her name was Kushina Uzumaki. Have you ever heard of her?"

Naruto's eyes started welling up tears, and he shook his head 'no'. Gendō asked:

"Do you know who your father was?"

Naruto shook his head again. Gendō grunted:

"Damn in the hell! What the fuck's wrong with the Leaf?"

Naruto, starting to cry again, said:

"I… I-I always thought I… I was just an orphan… e-everyone hated me and tried to kill me, a-as I said before… f-for them, I-I was just the Nine-Tails in h-human shape…"

Gendō was truly upset:

"I see, so the old Hiruzen Sarutobi hid your heritage from you…" Gendō drew a picture from his desk's first cabinet. It showed the Fourth Hokage, smiling merrily, hugging a gorgeous red-haired woman who wore an attractive ninja outfit in beige and black. Gendō said: "Well, Naruto, it is time for me to tell you who your parents were, and how great they were."

Naruto took the picture, trying to see if there was something wrong with it. He couldn't believe what he was seeing, and Gendō's next words shocked him:

"The woman on the right was Kushina Uzumaki, my second daughter, known as the Katana Mistress of the Leaf and as the Bloody Habanero. She was known for being a sealing master, a kenjutsu master, a fearsome Air and Fire chakra user, and the second Jinchūriki of the Nine-Tailed Fox, whose name you should remember from now on: Lord Kurama."

Naruto was about to cry, realizing that his mother was such a great woman, who also had to face the fate of dealing with Kurama, the Nine-Tailed Fox, before him, when Gendō said:

"The one to the left was better known as the Leaf's Yellow Flash, the Fourth Hokage and the greatest ninja the Leaf ever had, even over the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju. His name was Minato Namikaze."

Naruto cried waterfalls of sour tears as he asked, dumbstruck:

"M-My father was the F-Fourth?"

Gendō nodded:

"He was the only one, besides Hiruzen Sarutobi, who knew about us being still alive and well, and he fought hard to keep the Hidden Rock and the Hidden Mist, along with my dearest Kushina, distracted enough for us to vanish from the Ninja world. They've practically sacrificed their tranquility selflessly, in order to assist us in our job, and we'll never do enough to repay them for that."

Naruto asked then:

"A-And, why did you need to hide?"

Gendō explained:

"During the First and Second Ninja Wars, we have fought hard and sacrificed a lot in order to assist our allies, the Hidden Leaf of the Senju and the Uchiha, and we were able of re-establishing the order that the Sage of the Six Paths commanded _**us**_ to maintain. Since then, power-lusty Kages and Kage-wannabes had set their eyes on us, as they wanted to seize power no matter what, and made huge profit out of war. The most dangerous of them all was the one who calls himself 'No One', a man who deserted the Uchiha ranks since the time of the Sage of the Six Paths and had done all what's at his reach to keep the world at war. You can recognize him as he wears an orange mask with a single eye in it. That's why the Hidden Leaf, commanded by the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, intercepted the attacks of the Rock, the Cloud and the Mist towards us, and both your parents, who knew us quite well, so as Hinata's mother, knew that they'd need us in the future, so they sacrificed themselves in order to avoid their eyes from setting on us again, making of the Leaf the new spotlight. Unluckily, 'No One' suspected of their plot, and had the nerve to assault the Hidden Leaf the day you were born, Naruto, and, as Lord Kurama was turned into a puppet of this man's Eternal Sharingan, your parents decided that it was best for them to sacrifice their lives and seal the Fox inside of you. I particularly think that was a hasty and stupid decision, but it was their decision. If after all of that, and after all they asked Lord Sarutobi to do, you still were kept hidden from your heritage then I must say that I'm truly disappointed of the Hidden Leaf."

Naruto still couldn't believe it:

"B-But, why? Why would gramps Hokage hide that from me?!"

Gendō said:

"Knowing how the situation in the Leaf was, and knowing both his interests and his fellow villagers' ones, he had too many things in her hands and couldn't handle them getting out of control after your heritage became known to those close to him. So, he probably decided that it was best to keep it an X-rank secret. I still can't support that decision, but I can understand it. It seems everyone in the Leaf acts without thinking. Even so, I'm truly angry and disappointed to realize that all our suspicions and reports on what your life had been with the Leaf villagers were true. Luckily, Tsunade had enough good sense to send both you and Hinata with us, so we can make of you the great ninjas you're meant to be, so as the heirs to our Clans."

Naruto nodded at that, drying his tears, and Gendō spoke again, extending a hand to him:

"Let me introduce you to your family, Naruto Uzumaki. I'm pretty sure our Clan will teach you everything you need to know about our shared blood and make of you a true shinobi. Let's go."

* * *

At the Whirlpool Hyūga compound, meanwhile, Hinata was marveled to see how these Hyūga were a lot more sociable, open and relaxed. There were no weird marks, no resentments, no 'masters and slaves'. They were just a family. The old man smiled at her and said:

"By the way, Hinata, my name is Arashi Hyūga, and I am the chief elder of the Clan. Why are you so surprised, my dear?"

Hinata, her eyes glassy, said:

"I-I… I-I've been taught to live my life so… so strictly, so classy, so… so hateful… t-the only one person in my family there at the Leaf who truly cared for me was my mom… and she died giving birth to my sister…"

Arashi said, caressing her hair slowly:

"Yeah, Hitomi, my daughter. When I sent her to the Leaf Village with Kushina, Naruto's mother, to distract the whole world in order to help in our 'vanishing', having them spread the word of our annihilation, I felt a lot pained, and I realized that, over there, she was in deep pain. If you don't mind, I shall explain you the differences between the Leaf and the Whirlpool bloodlines of our Clan as soon as we get to my place."

Hinata followed Arashi to a rather humble house, decorated in a functional way, something common between the houses of the compound, and something completely different than the Leaf Hyūga's houses. Arashi said, offering her a seat on his table:

"The very only difference between those Hyūga who left to the Hidden Leaf Village and us is the way we developed our bloodline trait, and that changed the usual behavior and mindset of each of us. Let me explain a bit while I make some tea."

Hinata nodded at the old man as she heard him talk from the kitchen:

"This is quite simple. The 'Leaf Hyūga', as we should call them now for making things easier, decided that their greatest asset was the Byakugan and the Gentle Fist style, refining them and refining them until they developed great skills with them. The issue was that, while doing that, they forced their own bloodline to seal itself in that level. That's why they only possess the 'white stage', and why they worship it so much. Of course, as this 'white stage' enhances their sight capabilities, they consider themselves as people with advantage, as they can see their enemies' weak spots and can see through walls, feeling that they have a lot of power, and that has turned them into a bunch of selfish, power-lusty bastards. That conformity twisted them into social predators and power players."

Hinata nodded, as she herself could understand many things now. Arashi said, as he brought the tea jar and two cups to the table:

"The 'Whirlpool Hyūga', like you, me and everyone else in here, still has her full bloodline ready to be developed. We train at several levels, being the first one the 'black stage', which consists in being completely capable of defending yourself, perceiving your enemies without the use of your eyes. Then comes the 'white stage', which, I must say, has a lot less range than the 'Leaf Hyūga's' Byakugan, but instead allows you to enhance your chakra control even when having extra-large chakra reserves, like you as a Hyūga should actually have. Then there is the 'silver stage', which allows you to enhance your body and your chakra capacity, allowing you to defend yourself and attack without needing to use broad movements and saving you physical energy. After that, comes the 'gold stage', which is our ultimate defense against chakra-based attacks, even against elemental chakra attacks. It works by making a barrier all around your skin and all it does is soaking all the chakra used against you and returning it to those who attack you with as much strength as you want. Needless to say, you require of having not only a huge chakra reserve and a great physical condition, but also a great level of self-confidence and faith. We'll work on it eventually, okay? Now, drink your tea."

Hinata nodded, marveled, and took a sip of her tea. She felt drowsy, all of a sudden, but Arashi's words soothed her:

"You'll feel sleepy after drinking this, but do not worry, Hinata. This way we'll help you with your pain and self-confidence issues."

Hinata looked at Arashi, her eyes closing up, and finally fell asleep.

* * *

As Naruto entered the Uzumaki compound alongside Gendō, he noticed all the weird looks from his clanmates. As they all were gathered, Gendō presented Naruto to them:

"This is Naruto Uzumaki, Kushina's son with the deceased Fourth Hokage. He has found his way here, and he barely knows of his heritage as an Uzumaki, so let's bid him our warmest welcome and make of him a great Uzumaki ninja."

Every single Uzumaki started looking at him, eyes dead fixed on his. As he felt how their chakra also invaded him through his eyes, he felt the Nine-Tails revolve in his mind, upset, but after a few seconds, he just fainted. Then, a Hyūga messenger arrived to the Uzumaki compound:

"Lord Uzukage, fellow ninjas. Lord Arashi says that Hinata is ready for the soul-healing process."

Gendō smiled at him and said:

"Tell him to meet us in the 'dark room'. Naruto is ready too."

* * *

At the Hidden Leaf Village, Tsunade and Jiraiya were meeting the Clan Heads. Hiashi Hyūga's mask was missing, as he was truly upset. The rest of the Clan Heads were there for a couple of reasons: interest in seeing what the Hyūga's turmoil was about, or simply an explanation to confirm the rumor on the street about Naruto's whereabouts. Both Tsunade and Jiraiya simply offered the same argument:

"We can say no more; that's an X-class secret."

Hiashi yelled:

"You **must** tell me where my daughter is! I'll put the whole Clan to search for her and kill whoever has her, Lady Hokage! If our Byakugan is stolen-"

"Her Byakugan is different than yours, Hiashi Hyūga, and your Byakugan is already under possession of the Hidden Mist Village, for you know." This made Hiashi flinch, as this was unknown to him. "She's right now under the tutelage of people who will teach her properly how to develop her true power, unlike you, who wants to make of her a disposable tool for your Clan to earn political power, or simply a slave, as your Clan did to your wife…"

Hiashi stood up, chakra fully charged in his palms, killing intent rising to the skies. Then, he was fully frozen in place. Shikaku Nara said:

"She's right and we know it."

Hiashi was then forced to sit down and was released of the Shadow Binding of the Nara patriarch. Jiraiya continued:

"She's also with Naruto, who is under a similar process of self-discovery, and those who will teach them are willing to take care of them for us."

Shibi Aburame, the Aburame patriarch, spoke in a neutral tone, as usual between the Aburame ninjas:

"I understand what you say, even when I still think of it as a nonsense. After all, a Jinchūriki out in the wild, with Akatsuki on the run, is a recipe for certain disaster. And, for how long will they stay wherever they are now?"

Jiraiya replied:

"At least for three to four years." Everyone was shocked. "Actually, the idea is for them to not come back as mere Leaf ninjas, but as a sage and powerful couple ready to take the position of Hokage for good."

Hiashi laughed soundly, mocking the Sannin couple:

"Naruto as a Hokage?! Hinata as his couple?! Ha! You're stepping through my, my peers', and the villagers' opinions like if we didn't have a voice!"

Shikaku Nara spoke:

"I support Lord Jiraiya and Lady Tsunade."

Inoichi Yamanaka, the Yamanaka patriarch, who stood silently, eyes closed, simply opened his cyan eyes and said:

"The Sannin are correct. I support their decision, too."

Chōza Akimichi nodded too. Tsume Inuzuka, the Inuzuka matriarch, usually known for being side by side with the Hyūga, simply said:

"I won't do anything stupid, as I sense Lady Hokage's firmness and certainty. I support her decision."

Shibi Aburame thought for a while and watched everyone. He then said:

"I'll submit to the Hokage's will in the name of my Clan."

Hiashi Hyūga, being the one who convoked this meeting, realized that he had been left alone for the very first time, not being able to convince, or confuse, his Clan patriarch peers into his ideas. He then simply left the room out of wrath. Chōza Akimichi said:

"We should keep an eye on the Hyūga."

Inoichi Yamanaka said:

"Yes. That mood of his may be shared by his elders and clanmates, and that might lead them to pull some weird stunts that could ruin whatever plan Lady Hokage has."

Tsunade said:

"I'm truly sorry that you have come here to have your time wasted so badly, so I'd like you to go back home and get some rest."

The different Clan patriarchs started leaving the room when a smoke cloud appeared, revealing a Leaf Jōnin who gave Tsunade a letter. She then said:

"Lord Nara, you may stay. The rest of you, please leave."

Shikaku Nara stayed there in the office, as the others left. Tsunade opened the letter, read it, and said:

"As I said, this is an X-class secret; transmission of this message without my authorization leading to death for you and your Clan members." Shikaku nodded. "I shall read. 'Naruto and Hinata are safely kept here, in the Hidden Whirlpool Village…" This made Shikaku Nara's eyes open wide in shock. "…and once they come out of 'The Dream' they'll be fully ready to start the Whirlpool Ninja training with their respective Clans. You've done a terrible job raising two of _our_ children, two children with truly high potential, so we'll take the liberty to re-raise them into what they should be. Wishing you good luck. Gendō Uzumaki, Sixth Uzukage.' Are we clear?"

Shikaku Nara was still dumbstruck with the news. He himself knew Whirlpool ninjas closely, so as the Hidden Whirlpool Village when he was a child, and now, realizing that they were still alive, unlike what he was told decades ago, was clearly difficult for him to process. Even so, he just replied:

"Crystalline, ma'am."

End of Episode 2.


	3. Naruto's Dream

A/N: I truly appreciate you reviewers' patience towards my writing, and I also appreciate the corrections you've pointed to me. However, there are certain things that I won't change still, as they are quite relevant to the story. Also, expect some different things about the way I make my characters handle several jutsus. Anyways, here I've got for you Episode 3. Please read, enjoy and review, and I hope I can keep up the good work so far.

**Episode 3: Naruto's Dream.**

In the Hidden Leaf Village, there was quite a lot of movement. Tsunade was meeting the Nara compound, speaking with the Clan elders and the adults, Shikamaru being included there. ANBU surrounded the compound, making a sound barrier to avoid any stealer-in from listening to whatever would be talked inside the Nara manor. Also, the deer were already on guard, particularly well-trained by the Nara to defend the compound at all costs, even killing any trespasser more fiercely than guard dogs.

Whatever they were talking about, it seemed to awaken several emotions on the Nara ninjas, as the air turned heavier and the tension rose. Even so, Tsunade seemed to clear things to the Nara ninjas, and they seemed to agree with her words and her proofs.

A white-masked agent, dressed like an ANBU, but his clothes being pitch-black-colored, tried to get inside the compound, but then he stopped, sensing a rather foul amount of chakra in the surroundings of the Nara grounds. _'If I get inside I'll be shocked to death, and if I try to use my chakra to force my way in, I'll blow up several meters away, warning everyone inside of my presence. I'd rather go back and search for someone who can undo this barrier…'_

Those thoughts were quickly interrupted, as the man was losing control of his body, quickly noticing how his own hand grabbed a kunai and slowly slit his own throat, blood profusely dripping out of the neck wound. Behind the corpse, there was Inoichi Yamanaka, who quickly grabbed the body and Body Flickered somewhere else.

* * *

Meanwhile, in the Hyūga Compound, Hiashi was meeting the elders. They all were shocked by Tsunade's words about Hinata's Byakugan. An elder called Akihiro Hyūga, an old, bald man whose body was particularly skinny due to his venerable age and his lack of muscular mass, simply asked:

"And, you were stupid enough to not ask the Hokage about that, Hiashi?"

Hiashi simply said:

"That was neither the time nor the place to do that, while having the whole Clan Patriarch council in front of us!"

An old woman with beige hair and sunglasses, whose short size was decompensated by a rather fat body, whose name was Minako Hyūga, stated:

"Well, I agree with Hiashi about that, Akihiro. Now, what we have to do is to snatch Hinata up from whoever might have her and make deep analysis to her blood, to see how her Byakugan can be different from ours, and to see how we can use it to our favor."

A tall, white-haired man with eyeglasses spoke then:

"I'm already gathering several Branch Hyūga teams in order to start searching around the whole world."

Hiashi replied to him:

"How many people, lord Tora?"

"I've gathered so far five Jōnin teams."

Hiashi nodded then:

"Ok, let's start our search for Hinata. Tell them that they have one month to find her; if not, I'll kill them myself."

Listening to the meeting, from behind a window, there was a teenager who shared the traits of the Leaf Hyūga: long, dark-brown hair that reached his backside, pearl eyes that showed every time more a lot of resentment, his athletic body covered by a white kimono with long sleeves that hid his hands, and the Leaf headband covering his forehead. As he listened to this, he heard Hiashi say:

"And, what about Neji? We could use him to get to Hinata faster! And it could even be a lot less suspicious to the Hokage that we send only him!"

Minako replied:

"No, we cannot do that. Sending Neji alone would force us to ask for the whole Team 12 to go after her, and we can't afford to let anyone else know what we're craving to know about Hinata. It's better if he stays here."

Neji's rage was growing tougher and fiercer, as he heard the elders' extraordinary meeting. _'They'll use my fellow Branch familiars again to search for Hinata and kill them if they don't find her… well, I'm pretty sure they won't find her at all… I'd better tell the Hokage about this!'_

* * *

In the Hidden Whirlpool Village, the Uzumaki and Hyūga ninjas gathered around the limp bodies of Naruto and Hinata. They were thoroughly checked by them, the residues of the Watchful Eye seal on Hinata and Naruto's Death God seal being found. The Hyūga elder, Arashi, said:

"I know this seal. Hinata has been marked with the Watchful Eye seal, which allows whoever marks its victim to perceive all what it does, thinks or senses. It seems to have been distorted heavily, but it hasn't been removed, so, it is time to do this job."

The ninjas put hands to work, quickly gathering enough chakra to pulse it through the seal. It seemed not to be removed easily, so Arashi Hyūga put more effort into the chakra pulses, only being able to remove it after a fierce struggle. Panting, he said:

"The one who made this seal imprinted a lot of willpower when he put it. Hope this allows Hinata to loosen up a bit."

Then, they looked at the Death God seal on Naruto's belly. Gendō Uzumaki said:

"This is the usual seal present in the Jinchūriki, the only seal capable of containing a Tailed Beast. The Sage of the Six Paths used it on himself to seal the Ten-Tailed mythical beast inside his own body, and, as far as I've been told, it was used on Naruto to seal Lord Kurama, the Nine-Tailed Fox. Let's see if we can release him from his burden."

Gendō Uzumaki drew chakra from his fingertips, getting ready to slam Naruto's abdomen.

* * *

At the Hidden Leaf Village, Neji saw how the elders' meeting in the Hyūga manor extended a bit more, until the moment when he saw Hiashi flinch and faint. _'What the hell is going on?!'_ The Hyūga elders ran like hell to search for their Branch family medics, even willing to force them into attending the Clan Patriarch. Neji left the Hyūga compound, before he was forced to do anything.

* * *

Back at the Hidden Whirlpool Village, Naruto had received a rather strong slam on his abdomen. Gendō Uzumaki fainted just after that, his hand almost glued at the blonde's belly.

* * *

Gendō would wake up in a rotten sewer. The area had a huge jail and a label with the word 'seal' in it. Its calligraphy reminded Gendō of the Fourth Hokage. _'He must have made the seal and summoned the Death God… So, it means there's a part of him in here…'_ He then saw Naruto lying on the ground, and then a filthy stench filled the air, so as a loud growl was heard:

"**Who the hell comes this far to visit me?"**

Gendō spoke respectfully:

"Lord Kurama, Prince of all Tailed Beasts. My name is Gendō Uzumaki, Sixth Uzukage."

Kurama, the Nine-Tailed Fox, was utterly surprised to see how someone already knew his name. He actually asked:

"**And, how dare you speak my name?"**

Gendō kept his temper:

"We Whirlpool ninjas have kept, as the heritage that belongs to us, the knowledge of your names."

Kurama felt a lot suspicious:

"**Having our names, huh?"**

"We've heard that, whoever has the Tailed Beasts' names can control them and use them, but we've realized now that a Sharingan is more than enough for that."

Kurama growled in deep rage:

"**So you want to control me too…"** The Fox started drawing massive amounts of chakra: **"I won't allow any other pitiful human to take control over-"**

"Please, stop." Kurama was frozen by those words. "It is not my intention to use you anyhow. You've been sealed inside my grandmother, then inside my daughter and finally inside my grandson. The Hidden Leaf Village, who took tutelage over them, felt like they all were war weapons, but, as you could realize, they never truly wished to rely on your power at all, or even desired to use you as a weapon."

Kurama thought for a long while. Then, he said:

"**Mito Uzumaki always seemed to regret harboring me. Kushina Uzumaki was conscious that I was not a weapon, but she also regretted having me inside of her. Now, Naruto Uzumaki is the one who had it worse, and I myself had been forced to keep him alive in order for myself to survive, because the pitiful Leaf villagers thought he was me, and I'm pretty sure that he still regrets having me inside, even when he actually has this desire to 'help me'. Pitiful kid, how can he possibly help a Demon like me? I guess you're right, Uzumaki."**

Gendō said, still serious:

"Now, I'd like to release you, Lord Kurama, from the Death God seal, in order to set you free from your imprisonment, and set Naruto free from the hatred you've harbored for the last two hundred years."

Kurama asked:

"**You want to release me without killing the brat?"** As Gendō nodded, Kurama asked again: **"But, what about the masked Sharingan user who's in search for us Tailed Beasts?**

Gendō just replied:

"If you allow us to release you under those terms, and allow us to make both naruto and Hinata pass their test, then we'll make a deal."

Kurama growled and said:

"**Fine then. Wake the brat up, so only he can touch the seal."**

Gendō got to Naruto and woke him up:

"Grandson, time to wake up."

Naruto found himself in the sewers of his mindscape, then seeing Gendō in there surprised him:

"Um, Lord Uzukage? W-What are you doing here?"

Gendō smiled:

"I'm here to set you free from Lord Kurama, the Nine-Tailed Fox, and also to set him free from his imprisonment inside your soul."

Naruto was scared:

"B-But, h-he'll kill me if I set him free! That's what he's always told me!"

Gendō soothed his fears:

"Easy, Naruto. We Uzumaki have a way with seals (something that you'll learn right after this), so we can undo this sealing without killing you or without harming Lord Kurama. Now, take that tag off."

Naruto got close to the jail, this time seeing the Nine-Tailed Fox with a serious expression, instead of the more usual one of wrath or sadism. He grabbed and released the tag carefully, and, when it was almost taken off, Naruto was immobilized by chains, while a blond man wearing the Leaf Jōnin attire and a white coat with the words 'Fourth Hokage' on its back and red flames aimed at his neck with a three-pointed kunai, aiming at Gendō with another similar dagger:

"What the hell do you think you are doing, and who the hell is this old man?!"

Gendō smiled at him:

"You seem to have forgotten me, young Minato…"

Minato took a good look at Gendō, trying to recognize him, but Kushina's image appeared right beside Minato, wearing attractive kunoichi attire: black tank top under beige, short-sleeved jacket, beige mini-skirt, armored bracers and half-thigh-long boots. Out of her chest, chains came out, and in each hand she held a ninja-to. She said, embarrassed:

"He's my father, Minato-kun…" As Minato's expression softened just a bit, Kushina asked: "What do you think you are doing, Father?"

Naruto couldn't believe it. Deep inside his soul, there were his parents: Minato Namikaze, the Fourth Hokage, just like people talked about him, so powerful and kind in expression, and Kushina Uzumaki, the Katana Mistress of the Leaf, the beautiful red-headed woman who was powerful enough to harbor the Nine-Tailed Fox in her gut before him and restrain such a demon. Then, he heard how Gendō's voice hardened:

"Fixing the horrible mistake you've made."

Kushina replied then:

"We had no other choice than doing that! The Masked Man had control over Kurama, playing with us during Naruto-kun's birth! We had no choice, for both Naruto-kun's protection and the Leaf's safety, than sealing Lord Kurama in Naruto-kun!"

Gendō said, as Naruto's eyes welled up tears:

"There were many other solutions, and you knew it. Leaving Naruto orphan and with a demon inside his soul, already knowing how the Hidden Leaf Villagers were, was a terrible sin. You knew that Lord Hokage wouldn't take care of him at all, and you also knew that the rest of the Leaf wouldn't care about an orphan, even less if they didn't know about his parents, and even less if they could link him to Lord Kurama, what they almost immediately did." Gendō spoke in a scolding tone: "Else, Minato, you were powerful enough and wise enough to calm Lord Kurama and make a deal with him. What my grandmother did to him was a mistake, and what she asked Kushina to do was even worse. If you thought of that, you could have eased his wrath and anxiety. On the other side, Kushina, you're a god-damned Uzumaki; your blood heals your body as part of your bloodline trait, so those wounds you had could easily be healed in due time. Also, you could beg for Lord Kurama's good will to forgive you as you didn't exactly want to be his host. So, I know what you did was a terrible mistake, both of you, and I truly doubt there's a way for you to repay him, as you're dead now."

Kurama watched the whole scene, thinking about Gendō's words. Naruto, meanwhile, cried sour tears now, but then he heard Minato and Kushina cry, their cries and sobs being a lot more heartbreaking than his. Gendō said:

"Naruto, please, finish removing the seal."

Minato and Kushina, both in deep pain, saw how Naruto, their child, their only child and legacy to the world, looked at them with melancholic and pained eyes, even with some hint of resentment and pity. The words that came out of his lips shattered their hearts:

"The greatest heroes ended up being the worst parents…"

Naruto got rid of the chains and stepped between his parents, passing through as he looked to the half-removed tag. Without listening to anything, Naruto removed the seal for good, and the Nine-Tailed Fox stepped outside of the cage. Its huge size reduced to the size of a bear, its eyes looking at Naruto with incredulity. Naruto said:

"Go ahead, you're free."

Kurama looked at Naruto and stared at him. Naruto didn't seem to harbor any ill will towards him, so he just looked at him and said:

"**I seem to owe you a favor, Naruto Uzumaki. I will talk to the Death God."**

Then, the Nine-Tailed Fox disappeared, and slowly, the pathetic mindscape vanished.

* * *

Finally, Naruto had woken up. He was in a dark room, and he realized that he was surrounded by people, but only because he could hear their breathings. Then, he felt a huge pain in his belly, and the place was enlightened with a huge bass of bright blue chakra. Suddenly, the terrifying image of the Death God had made his apparition in scene, surprising all the Uzumaki and the Hyūga ninjas who watched for the newcomers. The Death God spoke:

"NARUTO UZUMAKI, YOUR SEAL HAS BEEN UNDONE. I SHALL TAKE MY PART OF YOUR SOUL AS IT IS WRITTEN IN THE SEAL CONTRACT YOUR FATHER SIGNED WITH ME."

Naruto, scared as hell, turned to Gendō, who simply nodded:

"The Death God is right. Everyone who does the Death God's Consuming seal must accept the Death God's conditions, no matter which they are."

Suddenly, the room was filled with a heavy, massive red chakra. Then, Kurama's voice was heard:

"**I come here to make a deal for the brat."**

The Death God saw how the Nine-Tailed Fox formed itself. He said:

"KURAMA, WHAT THE HELL DO YOU WANT NOW?"

Kurama replied:

"**I'll give you my soul in exchange for the brat and his parents."**

Everyone, including Naruto, was utterly shocked. Naruto himself asked:

"W-What the hell are you doing, Lord Kurama?!"

Kurama replied with an evil grin, directly to Naruto's mind:

"**There, in the Death God's belly, I'll be safe from the Masked Man, and, as you, already know my name, you can summon me, and I can leave the Death God's belly when you do so."**

The Death God said, not believing the situation yet:

"ARE YOU WILLING TO ACCEPT THAT DEAL, LORD KURAMA?"

The Nine-Tailed Fox nodded. Then, the Death God took a deep breath, expulsing two huge masses of blue chakra, and then he started sucking Kurama's red one. As the chakra was absorbed, the fox's shape was lost, and Kurama said, again to Naruto's mind:

"**You once said that you wanted to help me. Now you've got the chance. I want you to meet my brothers and bring them with me before the Masked Man captures them. As an Uzumaki, you should know how to summon the Death God, and when you learn my brothers' names, you'll be able to seal them here with me. Now, go, and try to find it in your heart to deal with your parents, as I won't be here to _assist you_ with that."**

Naruto nodded, and saw the Nine-Tailed Fox be swallowed by the Death God. Then, the God used his hands to give shape to the two chakra masses that he had vomited before. After some time, these masses had acquired the shapes of Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki, and with a blow from his lips, their souls became solid, acquiring bodies. The Death God said:

"Our deal is done. I'm gone now."

With these words, the Death God left for good. Naruto felt a lot more relaxed, but also a lot more pained, as now he could see his parents, both alive and well, both deeply hurt, but happy, to see him. Gendō, being quite serious, said:

"Perhaps now you'll have a small chance to repay Naruto for what you did sixteen years ago, and for what you didn't do since then. Do it right, so we can recover this great asset of our Clan, and he can become even more powerful than any Kage without Kurama's chakra."

Minato looked at Gendō and nodded, then looking at Naruto:

"Naruto-kun, I truly know you're mad at us, so I'm willing to accept any punishment you consider fair, and I know Kushina-chan till accept hers too."

Kushina held Minato's hand, concerned but full of will, and Naruto, giving a show of maturity, said:

"There's no worse punishment than being in a limbo, unable to see Heaven or Hell, due to your hasty acts. Don't ask me to punish you… but…" Both Minato and Kushina received fists in their abdomens: "You could at least have left me something that could let me know about you! Or at least you could have left me under the care of a family, as you seemed not to want to raise me!"

Kushina and Minato were shocked by these words, feeling the betrayal deep in their hearts. As she caught her breath, she said:

"We wanted to raise you, and we still do, Naruto-kun… well, that is, unless you consider it's too late already…"

Naruto turned his back on them, upset and crying:

"It's already too late… my mom was the Leaf's streets and back alleys, my dad was the bunch of drunken bastards who tried to kill me when I was a child. Seriously, I truly doubt you can undo their _job_… Prove me wrong, if you can…"

End of Episode 3.


	4. Hinata's Dream

A/N: Hello, again. Here comes Episode 4. This one cost a little more, so it took me a little more to submit. I'm trying to write the sketch of the episode before passing it to the electronic format, so, if it takes me a while to update, it's either because I haven't been able to write down the sketch, or because I haven't been able to pass it to the PC. Anyways, read, review and enjoy. Hope you like it.

**Episode 4: Hinata's Dream.**

Gendō watched the scene carefully, seeing Naruto's wrathful but almost silent reply to his new-found fathers, and before the blond kid got away, he got close to Naruto, as both Minato and Kushina cried hopelesly, hugged to each other:

"Naruto, you shouldn't be so hard on them. I know they're truly good people, and they care for you, so give them a chance to enter your life."

Naruto, who also cried, turned to Gendō and yelled, still feeling the deep pain inside his heart:

"I need them to feel the pain I've felt for sixteen years so far! I need them to know what means to be left alone! I need them to understand what means having to struggle constantly against the whole damn world just to make and keep one single friend! I need them to…" Naruto broke in sobs, jumping to hug the old Uzukage: "…I need them to know me…"

Gendō hugged the teenager, realizing that his situation wasn't easy at all, but he considered it was time to give him a hint towards forgiveness:

"Believe me, Naruto; if anyone has known humiliation, pain, loneliness, struggle, rejection and hypocrisy, is Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki." This surprised Naruto greatly, as he had realized that he knew nothing about his parents, and he was accusing them already without knowing them: "Now, my boy, find it in your heart to just listen to them. Forgiveness can come later, but at least listen to them, and let them reach you. They won't harbor any ill will towards you, it's just the pain they feel for not being close to you before."

Naruto looked then at Gendō, who smiled at him, keeping a serious look in his eyes. As Naruto dried his tears, Gendō said:

"Go with them, kid. Don't leave them waiting any more time than what they have waited yet. We'll deal with Hinata."

Naruto walked away from the Uzukage, but then he turned to him and said:

"You'll surely need my assistance, Lord Uzukage. So far, I think I'm the only person she trusts in here."

Gendō simply said:

"We'll call for you when we need you. Now, go to your parents; I'm sure you'll have a lot to talk about."

Naruto walked towards Mianto and Kushina, the three of them leaving the dark room. Gendō turned to Arashi Hyūga and said:

"Lord Arashi, how do you feel Hinata so far?"

Arashi, who had one hand in her solar plexus and the other one on her forehead, just opened his eyes:

"We'll indeed have a tough situation with Hinata here. I can barely scratch the surface of her soul. It's as if her defenses won't let me in."

Gendō got close to Hinata, putting his hands on her eyes. After trying for a couple of seconds, Gendō flinched in pain and took his hands off Hinata's eyes. He blinked, visibly tired and pained:

"Hinata's psychic defenses are truly strong…" Gendō then saw something: "…even when I start doubting that those are Hinata's defenses. We'd better call Naruto, in order to confirm if it's her who rejects us, or if it's somebody else."

Arashi replied:

"Ok, but you should let him talk to his parents first. Maybe if they can start making a bridge to get along, the three of them can help us."

Gendō nodded at those words and simply waited.

* * *

Outside of the room, Minato and Kushina opened themselves to the round of questions Naruto had started. Naruto, crying his eyes out, listened to them and made more questions. He never thought that both his parents were as mistreated as he was; his father being an orphan whose parents he never knew about, and his mother being sent alone to a different Hidden Village, away from her family, with an S-rank mission in her hands before she was even a Genin ninja; both were looked down by the Leaf villagers and despised for who they were.

Then, things would get worse by the fact of Kushina having to endure the influence of Kurama, the Nine-Tailed Fox; all summed up to the earlier facts. Even so, both Minato and Kushina had to arm themselves with courage and honor, becoming the greatest ninjas the Leaf had ever had. It was thanks to the civilians of the Leaf that Kushina was kidnapped by the Hidden Cloud Village, as they sold her to them, and only because of the Third Hokage's intervention, and Minato's high tracking skills, Kushina was recovered and brought back to the Village.

Also, due to civilians' misunderstandings and economic plots involving them, the Third Ninja War exploded, and both Minato and Kushina had to fight fiercely against myriads of Hidden Rock and Hidden Mist ninjas, making their names feared, and scoring victories for the Hidden Leaf in that war. Only in this moment, when the civilians truly feared for their lives, turned from despising them to praising the very land they stepped upon. Indeed, the granting of the title of 'Hokage' to Minato was both a way to 'honor' him and a way to keep him busy and under control, and Kushina, since then, decided to keep anonymous, in order to avoid more burden to fall on his husband's shoulders.

Then, came the terrible night when Naruto was born. Both told Naruto how the Masked Man's appearance, which Gendō had called as 'No One', determined the fate of the Hidden Leaf, as he played his parents in order to earn access to the Fox, causing rampage as he could control it with his rather powerful Sharingan. Then, the hasty decisions they took in the heat of the moment, the last words both Kushina and Minato gave to Naruto before they died; all was taken into account by the blond teenager, who was totally focused, also feeling shame deep inside his soul. He could just ask, sad, and ashamed:

"But, w-why me? T-That's all I need to know, mom, dad…"

Minato took a deep breath and said:

"Because we had faith, and we knew, deep inside our hearts, that you were the only one who could keep up with the Fox without being corrupted, and develop a strong character and a sense of right and wrong that would lead you to be a true hero, Naruto-kun…"

Kushina shook her head then:

"But, it was all a huge mistake, my son, and we realized that the moment our souls were devoured by the Death God. Not being there to watch over you was one of the worst things we had to deal with; also being the one thing we both regretted most. The worst thing: now that we're back and able to see you for real, you're no longer in need of our guidance, as you've become a fully-grown-up man who has been capable of being at peace with Lord Kurama and commit yourself to do the right thing to restore balance to the world."

Naruto looked at his saddened mother, who smiled sweetly at him, eyes glassy. Tears fell off his eyes, running down his cheeks:

"I… I-I've never been in more need of guidance than now… I-I've n-never been… in more need of parents than… than right now… I beg you, please; d-don't you ever say such a thing again…"

Kushina was surprised to see Naruto hug her tightly, crying on her shoulder, and she smiled, hugging her son as she always desired. Minato, seeing the scene, smiled too, and hugged both Kushina and Naruto:

"And we're here to fulfill both your needs, Naruto-kun. We won't leave you this time, and we'll teach you everything you might need from us from now on."

Naruto slowly parted the hug, seeing both his parents' faces:

"I know I still need some time to heal my wounds, but you can count on me to be your son, so as to work hard in order for us to become a solid family…"

Gendō, happy to listen to Naruto's incredible matureness, opened the door of the room and called:

"Naruto, we'll need your assistance. Hinata's psychic defense is too tough and will strike at us at once."

Naruto simply said:

"I knew it. Let me see what's going on."

Naruto got inside the room, followed by his parents. Once he got in, he breathed, relaxing down as Jiraiya had taught him once, and put his right index finger on Hinata's forehead, right between the eyes. He stood there for a few seconds, and then he woke up, his face showing deep contempt and anger:

"This isn't 'Hinata's psychic defenses', Lord Uzukage; it's something even worse…"

Arashi asked:

"And, what is it, Naruto Uzumaki?"

Naruto replied, knowing Hinata too well:

"During all of her life, Hinata had been pressured by her own father, and her Clan's elders, in order for her to mold herself into the Leaf Hyūga's costumes and lifestyle. As it was completely going against her nature, and she had a natural resistance against that lifestyle, her superiors had pushed her harder and harder. I asked this once to the Pervy Sage…"

Everyone was dumbstruck as Naruto said the nickname. Minato asked:

"The who, Naruto- kun?"

Naruto replied:

"The Pervy Sage, father."

Kushina blew up in laughter, startling everyone, and asking:

"Ha, ha, ha, ha! Isn't that the old Jiraiya, Naruto-kun?!" As Naruto nodded, Kushina said: "I guessed so, heh, heh! I used to call him the same way!"

Naruto snickered at his mother when Gendō interrupted:

"Ok, ok, what did Lord Jiraiya tell you, kid?"

Naruto and Kushina shut up immediately and the blonde said:

"Well, he told me that the Leaf Hyūga had this mind-controlling technique that they used to maintain a constant and permanent pressure on their victims, neutralizing them without needing to keep consciousness of the psychic link. Now that I see Hinata-chan's mind, I can see that she had fallen victim of it, perhaps under her elders' influence, also I understand how it works, and also I can understand how Pervy Sage taught me to counter it."

Arashi said:

"So, you can undo the technique?"

Naruto replied with a nod:

"I guess so, but I'll need a lot of help."

As Naruto turned to his shocked parents, Kushina nodded, grinning evilly:

"Count me in, my son. If this Clan is capable to do that to their own children, then they deserve no mercy."

Minato, also upset, nodded too:

"I also seem to have a score to settle with Hiashi Hyūga and his elders, Naruto-kun; I shall explain you in due time."

Naruto nodded at his parents, and Arashi said:

"Lord Uzukage and I will go with you. I'm pretty sure you'll need a lot of chakra."

The five ninjas laid their hands on Hinata, and then they all fainted, their hands glued to the shy girl.

* * *

Hinata's mindscape was a huge wall, just like the Leaf Hyūga compound's walls. Naruto saw then how the wall bent over itself, creating a perimeter around them, and slowly reducing the space they had, as if going to crush them. On top of the wall, Hinata's voice was heard, but it was a lot distorted and mixed up with other voices:

"Who dares invade my soul?!"

The voice scared Gendō and Arashi, but Naruto stood firm:

"It's just me, Hinata-chan; can we talk for a bit?"

The wall closed against them a lot faster, even drawing sharp spikes, ready to impale them. Naruto just breathed, as the rest seemed nervous:

"Hinata-chan, you don't want to do this, do you?"

Her voice, even when still modified and mixed up, spoke, a sad tone in it:

"No, Naruto-kun, I don't, but I can't help it… I'm so useless…"

Naruto realized then some of Jiraiya's words, from the moment he talked about the Hyūga's mind-disturbing technique.

* * *

_Flashback._

_Jiraiya sat with Naruto in a small cabin, as they both ate instant ramen. The Toad Sage said:_

"_Naruto, in case you ever become a victim to this technique, or in case you are ever going to aid someone who could have fallen victim to it, you'll need to know the different defense levels this technique has."_

_Naruto asked:_

"_Ok, Pervy Sage; should I take notes?"_

_Jiraiya nodded. Naruto then took a notebook and a pencil, taking notes of everything. Jiraiya said:_

"_The first level of defense is a solid wall, built by the controller upon the deep feelings of fear, guilt and shame the victim may harbor in its soul. It can easily become aggressive under the controller's command, so you have to be cautious and fast. The best way to get past it is to show the victim that there is an actual way out of the shame and guilt it might harbor, and always be solid and secure in your replies to the many attempts of the controller to keep subduing the victim's thoughts."_

_End of Flashback._

* * *

Naruto turned to the top of the wall and spoke loud and clear:

"Sure as hell you can, Hinata-chan! You are the greatest kunoichi the Leaf has, and you know deep in your heart that it's true!"

Naruto's walls made the walls freeze. Then, both elders noticed how the walls cracked. Minato was surprised to see that Naruto had acquired Kushina's will. Kushina just grinned as Naruto replied:

"If I could fight my inner demons, and they _were_ Demons, then you're able to do it a lot easier than me! I'm just here to stay right beside you and give you the support you might need!"

Finally, the walls crumbled into fine dust. Out of the dark, Hinata showed up. She smiled at Naruto and asked, blushing:

"Naruto-kun, hello. W-Who are these people?"

Arashi was about to ask when Naruto made a hand sign. _'There's something weird about this.'_

* * *

_Flashback._

_Jiraiya said, seeing Naruto take notes really quickly:_

"_Ok, now that we're done with the first level, I'll tell you of the second barrier you'll find."_

_Naruto asked:_

"_Ok, I'm ready."_

_Jiraiya said:_

"_The second barrier the controller uses is a tricky one. The controller will expect you'll relax your in-depth search for it if you see the victim, so that's what he'll do next."_

_Naruto asked:_

"_Um, you mean, he'll make me think that I'll meet the victim after defeating the first wall."_

"_That's right, kid. The fact is that this victim's image will have small traits that will identify the controller through it, like hair color, eye color, any facial feature, the clothing, the size and proportions, whatever. You must watch this image of the victim very carefully, in order to identify these traits. Once you have done so, you'll have to reveal the failure, in order for the image to vanish."_

_End of Flashback._

* * *

Naruto looked at this Hinata for a few seconds, noticing the differences in the color of her hair and her eyes, and then he said:

"This isn't the real Hinata." Hinata was shocked: "Her hair is dark-blue, not brown, and her eyes are lilac-colored, not pearl-colored. These are the traits of the controller… or should I say, **controllers**."

'Hinata', already unmasked, frowned at him:

"Then I must say that you're a nosy bastard, Naruto-kun! That old bastard was about to reveal juicy information on you all to my leaders, but now, thanks to you, I'm forced to kill you!"

'Hinata' moved really fast, directly heading to attack Naruto with a perfect Gentle Fist stance, being that another trait that allowed Naruto to recognize the fakeness of that 'Hinata'. Luckily, Gendō's Chakra Chains captured her, stretching her limbs up, and Arashi's eyes turned full white. 'Hinata's' eyes also turned full white, in a challenging way, but then Arashi's eyes turned silver. As 'Hinata' could get rid of the chains, she jumped to attack Arashi, whose eyes turned gold, no veins sprouted on his forehead area. 'Hinata' attacked Arashi at full speed, the old Hyūga keeping calm and receiving the attacks. As 'Hinata' finished, she felt how all of the attacks bounced back to her, vanishing in a painful yell.

Arashi, deactivating his bloodline trait as he finished, took a deep breath, in order to calm himself. Suddenly, the darkness became even darker, and then several voices both Minato and Kushina recognized started echoing in the dark, in a terrifying cacophony:

"You've been no more than a disgrace."

"If I were Hiashi, I'd offer you to marriage to the first man with an ounce of political power we found around and send you away from the Leaf."

"You're not worth those eyes you possess."

"You're not worth the blood that runs through your veins, pure Hyūga blood wasted in such a failure."

"You're weak, and you'll always be weak."

"Kindness isn't a Hyūga trait, but a show of cowardice and weakness."

"Your sister, being five years younger than you, is better than you in everything."

"Hanabi should be the true Heiress to the Hyūga, and you should be branded, as it has to be."

"We'll have to kill you like we killed your mother, that pitiful whore."

This alerted both Arashi and Naruto's parents. That phrase would keep in their minds forever, as they meant that Hitomi was actually murdered.

"You're a worthless piece of crap, a pawn in our game."

"We'll make Hiashi brand you with the Caged Bird."

"You're a disgrace."

"You're a disgrace!"

"You're a disgrace!"

"You're a disgrace!"

Naruto kept calm, as the wrath took control of his partners. _'Something has to be done now.'_

* * *

_Flashback._

_As Naruto finished taking notes, Jiraiya continued:_

"_Once you get rid of the Double Image, you'll face the third defensive wall of the controller. If you can get this far, then you'll face all the regrets, fears and aggressions the controller applies to the victim."_

_Naruto asked:_

"_H-How is that, Pervy Sage?"_

_Jiraiya explained:_

"_In this stage you'll finally know how the controller is attacking the victim's soul. It may be images, words, real or a fake scene, simple ideas, whatever the controller feels it's suitable to him."_

_Naruto asked, thinking:_

"_And, how could I defeat that?"_

_Jiraiya smirked:_

"_Simple, my godson. You have to muster all of your willpower and your inner strength, in order to counter the images and shake the victim's thoughts, in order to wake it up. The idea is to show your willpower, in order to bond it to the victim's willpower, reinforcing it. You'll know if you succeed when you see the victim."_

_End of Flashback._

* * *

Naruto took a deep breath, closing his eyes, and focusing. He whispered:

"I'll need a lot of chakra for this."

The voices kept echoing insults and mockery towards Hinata, and the elders focused, giving chakra to Naruto. Once he felt he had enough power, he yelled:

"DO NOT LISTEN TO THEM, HINATA-CHAN! STRUGGLE! FIGHT AGAINST THOSE WORDS! YOU'RE A LOT STRONGER THAN I AM! COME ON!"

The voices stopped, surprised, and then started laughing. In the middle of the pitch-black mindscape, the true Hinata appeared. She was tightly tied in chakra strings, the five Hyūga elders holding her tightly, and Hiashi standing in front of the group. As the Leaf Hyūga ninjas turned to the group, got completely surprised. Hiashi looked at Minato and Kushina and spat:

"What the hell is this?! Why is the Demon Brat along with the Fourth Hokage and the Katana Mistress in my daughter's mind?!"

Kushina spoke with venom:

"Ok, you submit her to this treatment for so long, and now that we come to rescue her, suddenly she's your precious daughter?! You make me laugh, Hiashi! You're pathetic!" As Hiashi looked at her, defiantly, she continued: "I wonder if you allowed, or even made the same to Hitomi-chan, my very only friend, and your beloved wife! I start to wonder if you made of her a slave, just like you're doing with Hinata-chan!"

Minato said, also with venom:

"Also, why do you call **my son** a 'Demon Brat'?! Is it possible that your word is worth nothing?!" This actually made Hiashi flinch: "You swore to me, and even signed on a paper with the Third's seal, that you would raise my son if anything happened to me and Kushina before he could be able to look out for himself! Is it that, right after our death, the trust I had in you went straight to hell, as you seemed only to care for your screwed-up Clan's prestige?! You disgust me, Hiashi Hyūga!"

Hiashi felt bad, and the elders pressured him to keep straight, but then Naruto noticed that something was missing. He made a sign to his parents, as he tried to remember something.

* * *

_Flashback._

_Naruto had finished taking notes when Jiraiya said:_

"_Finally, you'll meet the victim and the controller. In this moment, if you attack the controller, the victim will suffer whatever attack you do to the controller, and the controller could even have a chance to not only subdue the victim's mind, but also yours."_

_Naruto asked, concerned:_

"_Then, what should I do?"_

_Jiraiya explained:_

"_In that moment, you only can do one thing: awaken and strengthen the victim's willpower and self-confidence. If you know the victim, you should awaken the best side of it: a feeling, any particular strength it might have, whatever. You must make sure that the victim can fight and expel the controller on its own, as that's the only way for you to heal it."_

_End of Flashback._

* * *

Naruto looked at Hinata, who was suffering, as the elders made pressure with the chakra strings, and said, catching her attention:

"Hinata-chan, you've already confessed that you loved me." This made Hinata's eyes lock up on Naruto's. "And I know that you still do." Hinata seemed to struggle a lot, but she was focusing on Naruto like his words were part of a meditative mantra. For the elders' disgrace, this focus Hinata had on Naruto weakened and stretched the ties around her body. "Now I know it is my turn to tell you what I feel for you, but, in order to do that, I need you to show me that you are strong enough to endure it, okay?" As Hinata nodded, calming herself down, even forgetting about the pain and the suffering, Naruto continued: "To show me that you're strong enough, you must show me that you love yourself."

The Hyūga elders, seeing that Naruto's words were direct and accurate, started whispering things at both Hinata's ears, trying to make her lose focus. Naruto simply said, seeing Hinata struggle again with the strings and the elders' foul words:

"Listen to me, Hinata-chan." This made Hinata recover her focus. "Those ties that surround you are just the accumulation of all the expectations from the Leaf Hyūga towards you. It's all the fear, the frustration, the punishment, the forceful and vain efforts of turning you against your true nature." Hinata nodded at these words, the elders trying to tighten the strings desperately. "In order to show me that you love yourself, you must release yourself from those ties that bind your true nature, Hinata-chan. Go ahead; do it."

For the first time ever, Hinata acted naturally, molding her chakra, and quickly breaking the ties. As the Hyūga elders, shocked, tried to repress her again, Naruto said:

"Now, if you're capable to love yourself and release yourself from ties you've got since ever, then you're capable to love. Now tell me, Hinata-chan, do you truly love me?"

Arashi and Gendō were surprised with Naruto's mature method and words, and Hinata, braver than ever before, charged her chakra, her veins popping out and her eyes turning white:

"I love **you**, Naruto-kun! I do, from the bottom of my heart!"

The elders, seeing how futile it was now to try and repress Hinata again, engaged her in combat, surrounding her. Naruto simply smiled sweetly and said:

"That makes me truly happy, Hinata-chan…"

These words were more than enough to make Hinata's bloodline react, her eyes turning silver, her forehead's veins reducing in size. She noticed how her body moved a lot faster than before, and she tried using her own-developed 'dancing' stance against the solid forms of the elders' Gentle Fist stance.

At the same time, Kushina and Minato noticed how the pitch-black mindscape revealed some characters that revealed, multiple times, the word "suppress". As these words, after shining in blue, disappeared, the pitch black cracked, revealing a sky-blue light that started bathing the combat area. Kushina said:

"Chakra suppressors in her soul… the Leaf Hyūga are such bastards… But they're gone now."

The elders were quickly overwhelmed by Hinata's speed and graceful movements, and not even their combined combat experience and power, and the fact that they were fighting 5-vs-1, could give them any advantage against her. One by one the elders were badly punched, and they vanished.

When the last elder vanished, Hiashi turned into his own Gentle Fist stance, which was the strongest one in the whole Clan. Hinata felt how Hiashi's fierce expression attempted to re-awaken the emotional turmoil that had Hinata under his control, but Naruto spoke then:

"…because I love you too, Hinata-chan, for real, since long ago, and only now I have mustered the courage to tell this to you…"

With these words, Hinata turned to see Naruto. He was blushed, he was smiling, and he was truthful to his words. The whirlwind of emotions channeled itself into a solid feeling of love, and Hinata's eyes turned golden, the veins returning to their normal size. Hiashi jumped to attack as he was already focusing his Divination Field. Hinata, meanwhile, just stood there, seeing everything in slow motion.

Arashi was excited, to say the least, so as Kushina and Minato, and Naruto felt truly happy for the first time in his entire life. Right before Hiashi scored the first blow, which seemed to harbor a lot of strength, rage and fear, the darkness shattered itself, revealing a beautiful, endless garden with flowers, trees, ponds, a river, and a shining sun rising up from the horizon. Hiashi's rather fierce attacks blew Hinata's body, but she didn't even flinch, even less move. Instead, Hinata was suddenly surrounded by a golden chakra membrane, and Hiashi was blown up to hell, all of the attacks showing up in his body, disintegrating in mid-air. As it was over, Hinata ran to hug Naruto and kiss his lips. After the first lip lock, Hinata said, happy and excited:

"I-I did it, Naruto-kun!"

Naruto, hugging Hinata as if she was made of porcelain, replied:

"Yes, you did. Now, the last test." Hianta listened carefully: "When we wake up, you'll have to kiss me in front of everyone who is with us, okay?"

Hinata blushed deeply, but understood what Naruto meant. She then whispered to his ear:

"I-I… I-I will, Naruto-kun, b-but then I want you to kiss me in… i-in private… t-that's my test to you…"

This time Naruto blushed, fighting a nosebleed that, luckily, he could repress. _'Damn Pervy Sage! His smut novels keep flooding my thoughts in the worst moments!'_

* * *

Finally, everyone was awakened. Hinata, almost leaving no time for reactions, jumped to kiss Naruto's lips in front of everyone. As the kiss lasted for a few seconds, reluctantly being parted, Naruto smiled and said:

"Hinata-chan, I'd like you to meet my parents. Dad, mom, this is my _official_ girlfriend, Hinata-chan!"

Hinata was astonished by the view. The Fourth Hokage was alive, saluting at her with the merry expression everyone in the Leaf described of him. Kushina Uzumaki, his wife, waved a hand to her and eye-smiled at her too, her expression just as merry and mischievous as Naruto's. As Kushina spoke, Hinata felt that her life would turn to better for good, this being the decisive step into a new, more fruitful and happier life:

"Your mom would have been proud of you, Hinata-chan. Welcome to the family."

End of Episode 4.


	5. The First Aftermath

A/N: There comes Episode 5! I know there were several holes so far in the story, so I continue with what I have planned and start now to fill some of them. Even so, I think I've just made a great chapter out of this. Even so, it's your call to say if it's good enough or if it's total crap. Please read, enjoy and review, and if anything comes up to your minds that can make this story better, then come up and say it as bluntly as you can.

**Episode 5: The First Aftermath.**

In the Hidden Leaf Village, more specifically in the Hokage's office, Neji Hyūga was speaking with Tsunade Senju and Jiraiya, the Toad Sage. Lately, Neji had become fully loyal to the Village's commandments, as he seemed to trust the Hokage a lot more than his own Clan. Neji never trusted his Clan's elders, and, in these last three and a half years, he noticed that Hiashi's forgiving attitude towards him was just a façade, a political scheme in order to show the Branch Family a carefully-measured dose of 'Hyūga benevolence and justice', in an attempt to quell for a bit the growing contempt in the Branch Family's ranks. What made Neji the most upset: the scheme worked perfectly.

On the other side, he had just discovered that Hiashi's sudden caring attitude towards him was not only unnatural, but also commanded by the Clan's elders. Hiashi seemed quite content with playing the elders' puppet, and Neji heard a meeting between the elders and Hiashi where they spoke about using Neji as an aspiring candidate for Hokage, being him a Branch Hyūga who could be easily controlled via the Caged Bird.

The last thing that made Neji despise the Clan even more was the way Hiashi treated his daughters, something that was also a common trait between the Main Family parents. As the Main Family had to ensure the Clan had enough 'guardians' (Neji would have used the word 'slaves', just like his cousin Hinata did a lot of times) to protect those who had real power, they forced, and many times **encouraged**, struggles between the siblings in a same family, favoring the one who seemed to fit better into the parents' schemes and despising the others, berating them and comparing them to their 'much better' siblings constantly. Neji even learned of the Hyūga's psychic abilities via the Byakugan, which seemed to be promptly sealed when the Caged Bird was applied (Neji even thought that the Caged Bird was designed solely for that purpose), and learned that the Elders, the Patriarch and all the Main Family parents didn't hesitate in using mind-disrupting techniques on their own children, in order to 'prepare them into the life of a Branch Hyūga', in the words of Minako Hyūga, one of the actual five elders of the Clan.

That way, he could understand the true reason behind Hiashi's despising towards Hinata and his constant spoiling towards Hanabi. Even when it took Neji to have his ass handed to him by Naruto Uzumaki several years ago to realize how things should be, he started studying and watching over Hinata and Hanabi. He started admiring Hinata's constant efforts to become strong, and realized that she fought truly hard to just barely receive a nice word from her father, and from the elders. Another thing he admired truly of her was her attitude towards life: even when she was a lot shy and self-conscious, her self-confidence truly low, she was a very kind and gentle person, who always seemed to draw a smile from whoever treated her. She reminded him a lot of her aunt Hitomi, a very beautiful and kind woman who married Hiashi and became the unhappiest woman ever, withering as a flower with no water… and as far as he could remember, Hinata was being treated just like her... or even worse.

On the other side, Hanabi was a shameless, spoiled child who only seemed to live to make her elders and her father happy. As, unlike Hinata, or unlike himself, she could master the Gentle Fist while being just five, and she could awaken her Byakugan when she was seven, then, all of a sudden, she became the favorite daughter, the one who was meant to bring glory to the Clan, and so on and on and on. The brainwash she was put through was so great that, even now, as she is just eleven years old, she is just as classy as the rest of the Clan, and, as Neji also could recall from his past, she started behaving like that one Sasuke Uchiha, the allegedly last member of the Sharingan Clan.

Right now, he informed the Hokage and the Toad Sage about what he saw in the Hyūga elders' last meeting. The information he just gave the Sannin made them think a lot:

"So, you're telling me that Hiashi and the elders are preparing all of their Branch familiars in order to start a death-sentenced search for Hinata in the whole world?"

Neji replied:

"That's all I could hear before Hiashi, and then the five elders, one by one, fainted."

Jiraiya, interested, asked:

"They all fainted?" As Neji nodded, he said: "Well, that's a lot weird. Any word on their actual status, kid?"

Neji just said:

"Last night, I heard the Branch family medics say that the elders would heal soon, but that Hiashi was in some sort of a coma state, and that they calculated that he'd wake up from it in a month."

Tsunade said, concerned:

"This should be a huge problem. If the elders wake up before Hiashi, then we will have to deal directly with whatever they have in mind. Their interest in Hinata had become suddenly suspicious, and their despair in wanting to get her at all cost can ruin the Leaf's safety."

Neji asked:

"Now, if I may ask, where the hell is Lady Hinata?"

Tsunade looked at Neji with piercing eyes:

"Well, all I can say to you is that Hinata is safe and sound, along with Naruto, in a place where they'll become the strongest ninjas ever."

Jiraiya nodded at those words, as Neji simply bowed, realizing that he wouldn't get any more information from them:

"I understand. Well, my lady, what is your command now?"

Tsunade was about to talk when Jiraiya held her shoulder. She said then:

"For now, keep an eye out on the elders and Hiashi, and inform us whenever any of them wakes up."

Neji nodded and left the office. Just seconds after that, a half-face-bandaged man walking with a cane and with his right arm covered by a blanket, entered the office. He covered his right eye with some bandages, and he was flanked by Homura and Koharu, the Village's elders. Tsunade and Jiraiya were alerted by the trio's presence. Danzō asked:

"I demand you tell me where our main weapon is."

Tsunade smirked and asked:

"And who are _you_, to command the Hokage like that?"

Danzō said:

"You know well who I am, Tsunade Senju."

Tsunade challenged him, making Jiraiya chuckle:

"No, I don't know. You better tell me, old geezer. Or is it that you're such a coward to let the Elders back up for you all the time?"

Danzō was upset at these words, and said:

"You don't want to mess with me, Senju."

Homura said:

"Enough. Tsunade, we're already getting a lot tired of you acting without reporting your actions to us the Elders."

Tsunade replied cleverly:

"Oh, it's just that. Well, Lord Homura and Lady Koharu may stay, as they are the **only** Village's Elders."

Danzō was turning more and more upset, and, as Tsunade looked at him, expecting him to leave, Koharu spoke:

"You know very well that this information you handle is valuable to the Village, so we have to know it. Also, Danzō needs to know it, as he is a very powerful ninja of the Village."

Jiraiya asked, a bit innocently:

"Oh, only because he persisted to maintain his ANBU ROOT division and his Foundation fortress, even when the Third _and_ the Fourth Hokage commanded him to disband the division and destroy the fortress?"

Danzō was about to take his left hand to his head's bandages when Homura held his hand. He said then:

"ROOT is a necessary division that keeps the Hidden Leaf Village safe from the most insidious foes."

Jiraiya asked then, drawing a scroll from his pocket:

"Oh, really?" Danzō was surprised to see the scroll Jiraiya had in his hand. "Then perhaps he could be kind enough to explain to us how is asking for a secret allegiance between his ROOT division and Orochimaru, the Leaf's greatest traitor, going to keep us safe?"

Danzō replied, seeing the elders' serious faces:

"You had no right to snatch a private message!"

Tsunade said:

"I commanded him to snatch it and read it for me, as I knew you had that intention since I met you. I knew already that you still had that division under your command, and I've been tracking your moves. I know you're in search of Naruto and the other Jinchūriki, just like those Akatsuki ninjas. Also, I have enough information about your deeds in the last thirty years that could merit you being chopped up like firewood and given to the Mist sharks for supper."

Danzō simply said:

"That won't be necessary, Tsunade Senju. The Elders have signed me as Sixth Hokage, being that decree effective right now."

Both Homura and Koharu's eyes opened wide like dishes, and Tsunade smirked:

"Trying to use your Sharingan on me, Danzō? You should know better than that."

Koharu cleared her throat and said:

"We just demand you to tell us where our Jinchūriki is, Tsunade, and we'll leave you alone."

Tsunade replied:

"First of all, Naruto is no weapon, and he's not your Jinchūriki, or no one's. Second of all, I won't tell a thing to you war hawks, because, if I tell you, Akatsuki will learn his location quickly."

Homura said, a bit ironically:

"Oh, so you're hiding Naruto to avoid Akatsuki from getting at him?"

Danzō claimed:

"If you allowed me to train him under ROOT's regime, you wouldn't need to pull such stunts."

Tsunade paid no attention to Danzō and continued:

"Also, if there is no Jinchūriki in the Leaf, even better if no one knows about it outside of the Leaf, or even inside of the Leaf, the chances that we're being left alone by Akatsuki, who had started moving again, are completely certain."

Jiraiya said:

"On the other side, why such a sudden interest in knowing about Naruto's location?"

Koharu spat back:

"I don't have to give you any answers, pervert."

Tsunade replied:

"Well, then, I ask the same, and you're forced to answer to me by decree of law."

Koharu gulped and said:

"We've acquired certain information about him being in a location we thought it was gone since decades ago."

Tsunade was alerted, using her most threatening voice tone:

"Oh, really? And what did you hear about that place?"

Koharu said, afraid of the Senju woman:

"We could gather information from this Nara shino-"

Homura interrupted:

"Our source doesn't need to be revealed. What matters now, we were informed that Naruto was taken to the Hidden Star Village for training."

Tsunade and Jiraiya kept the charade of themselves being upset about them knowing Naruto's location, even when they actually were upset due to the fact of the elders in front of her capturing a Nara ninja for interrogation. She said, pushing a button in her desk:

"Wolf, Lizard, Hare and Bear, I need you here in my office immediately."

Danzō was concerned. _'She's calling for ANBU agents, and, casually, none of them are from ROOT.'_

The four ANBU agents appeared after smoke clouds inside the office, and Wolf asked:

"What is it, Lady Hokage?"

Tsunade said:

"The Elders have betrayed me, the Clan Nara and the Village. Take them for immediate execution."

Homura and Koharu were scared as hell due to the ANBU quickly complying to Tsunade's orders. She then pressed her desk's button.

"Raven, Goose, you come here too."

Danzō thought for a second. _'I don't know of such agents between the ANBU ranks at all… how many things are you hiding from us?'_ Two smoke clouds appeared, revealing a man and a woman, both perhaps 16-years old, and both said:

"Give me your command, Lady Hokage."

Tsunade said:

"I want you to extract Danzō's multiple Sharingan. Perhaps your Clan will appreciate it, wherever they might be now."

Danzō was scared as hell, seeing a couple of Mangekyō Sharingan eyes under Goose's mask, speaking out of deep fear, even sweating cold and trembling:

"What?! There are still Uchiha ninjas alive?! H-How?! I made sure I planted on Itachi's mind the command of killing them all! I made sure Itachi spoke those words to Sasuke, in order to make them kill each other! I covered my tracks! It's impossible that there are still living Uchiha ninjas!"

Tsunade drew a recording device from her desk and said:

"All right, I have enough evidence now. ANBU, take off his stolen eyes."

Raven and Goose quickly drew kunai on Danzō's right eye, piercing it and turning into a formless jelly that fell to the ground. Danzō, who was caught off guard, could only react by Body Flickering, the rest of his Sharingan eye splattered on the ground. Goose, a kunoichi, simply said:

"Now, one of Shisui's eyes can rest, and I know now that Itachi is innocent. Thank you, lady Hokage."

Homura and Koharu were horrified by the scene, also scared by the Hokage's actions. Tsunade said then:

"Now, will you commit yourselves to protect the village or will you keep protecting your personal interests? It's your choice."

Homura and Koharu replied with a scared nod. Tsunade simply said:

"Very well, then. Now, I'd appreciate it if you leave this office and cut every contact with Danzō Shimura, as he seems to be prejudicial to the Leaf's survival. You're dismissed."

The Leaf Elders left the office, scared, and seriously disrespected. Wolf, Hare, Lizard and Bear left, nodding, as they already knew that their new mission was to watch over the elders carefully. Tsunade made a hand sign to Raven, who left, and Goose stood there. Tsunade said:

"Tsuki Uchiha, you can take that mask off."

Tsuki Uchiha took off the Goose mask, revealing her beautiful yet serious face. She had her dark-blue hair tied in a ponytail, two hair bangs jumping over her forehead. Her body was exceptionally beautiful, covered by standard Leaf ANBU kunoichi attire consisting in a black tank-top, a black mini-skirt, half-thigh long black boots, armor pieces on her neck, upper and lower arms, knees and lower legs. She also had a ninja-to strapped to her waist. Tsuki asked then, her pitch black eyes fixed on the Hokage:

"You seem to have a new mission for me, Lady Tsunade Senju."

Tsunade nodded.

"Yes, Tsuki. I relieve you from your duties in ANBU, and I command you to leave the Hidden Leaf Village in a S-rank mission."

Tsuki then received a small note with a map and some indications. Tsunade spoke then:

"You will head to that location and meet Itachi Uchiha. He'll surely be with his Akatsuki teammate: Kisame Hoshigaki, so be warned."

Tsuki said, smiling:

"I'll keep that in mind, lady Hokage."

Tsunade smiled:

"Yes. I'm pretty sure that Itachi will be more than happy to see that Sasuke's childhood girlfriend is still alive, so I'm sure he'll do all what he can to help you with him. We're quite aware of the need of Clans we'll have, so we must try to fight for the Uchiha. We don't want to make the same mistakes than our past generations, and sure as hell we don't want to create another Danzō, or another Madara Uchiha."

Tsuki nodded at that, a bit melancholic:

"Is it true that Sasuke-kun is digging down that path, Lady Hokage?"

Tsunade nodded, serious expression in her face.

"He's right now with Orochimaru because he's willing to become powerful at all costs. He still believes that Itachi is a mass murderer and a genocide who wishes for Sasuke to reach the power of the Mangekyō Sharingan by dwelling into his darkest inner beast. The issue is, Orochimaru will use his body as a vessel for his soul, so I need both you and Itachi to take Orochimaru out and rescue Sasuke, and, for the Heavens' sake, keep both brothers away from Akatsuki's sight."

Tsuki nodded, leaving the room. Jiraiya said then:

"Look, Tsunade: a sea hawk."

The blue-winged hawk reached the Hokage's office through the window. It had a message on its leg, and Tsunade quickly opened it. It said:

"Lady Tsunade Senju, Naruto and Hinata had made it through 'The Dream'. They are now ready for training under their Clans' commandments. Naruto could get rid of the Fox, who is safely being kept away from this world, and Naruto is willing to get all the Tailed Beasts away from this world, helping us in restoring the balance to our world, just like The Sage of the Six Paths commanded us long ago. We had to struggle against a weird mind-disrupting technique your Hyūga ninjas have, in order to set Hinata free from their influence once and for all, but she is free now."

The following paragraph made both Sannin freak out:

"By the way, Naruto's parents are alive after a weird bargain between the Fox and the Death God, the latter asking for Naruto's soul as a condition for undoing the seal on his belly (that bastard), and the former offering himself cleverly as 'sacrifice' in exchange of bringing both Minato and Kushina back to life. By the way, they say 'hi' to you. I send you a photo of them all. Waiting for this to be enough for now, and waiting for your village's situation report, Gendō Uzumaki."

Tsunade didn't know already what to say or to do. Jiraiya was even more freaked out; as there were many things he didn't know about the Death God's Consuming seal. As they looked at the picture that came attached to the letter, they could see Minato and Kushina, wearing standard Whirlpool ninja attire, and both Naruto and Hinata, wearing different outfits. Jiraiya said:

"This photo, so as the letter, must be burned at once."

Tsunade took a match and turned it on, burning both the photo and the message in a bronze dish, then tossing the ashes into a glass full of water, and finally heading to the office's bathroom and tossing the water down the drain. Those were definitely good news, but no one else could know of this.

* * *

Back at the Hidden Whirlpool Village, Naruto and Hinata were alone in a tree branch, as they headed to a park close to the Ninja Academy. Naruto asked, a bit melancholic:

"Hinata-chan, I was truly upset when I saw how your Clan's elders and your own father forced you into that mind-disturbing technique."

Hinata was crying:

"Y-Yes, I-I-I know, Naruto-kun… I-It pained me, a-a lot, that… th-that my f-f-father would do that *sniff* to me…"

Naruto hugged and caressed her:

"But, why would he do that? I truly thought that he was already looking at you with better eyes, after the fight where I beat Neji's ass!"

Hinata looked at his eyes, those royal blue eyes she loved more than anything:

"No, Naruto-kun, t-that was just a f-façade… *sniff* H-He only did that w-with Neji, b-because o-only he was c-capable of, o-of changing s-since then, a-at least in a way that his p-prejudice would allow him to see…"

Naruto said:

"But, even so, Neji seemed to keep his grudge against the Hyūga too."

Hinata said, fairly upset:

"E-Everything inside that cursed, s-stuck-up Clan is r-r-rotten, Naruto-kun… a-and Neji knows it…"

Naruto simply took her hand onto his and kissed her lips, drawing a smile from her face as he himself smiled:

"Well, lucky you, Hinata-chan; you won't have to deal with their kind in a long, long time. And if they dare to get any closer, they'll feel the power and the might of Naruto Uzumaki, your boyfriend and the best ninja ever."

Hinata giggled at Naruto's antics, replying with another kiss in his lips:

"A-And I wouldn't want it any other way, Naruto-kun… th-thank you…"

Naruto dried her tears and combed her hair a bit with his fingers. He then asked:

"Ok, then, Hinata-chan. Now, moving into other business…" This made Hinata laugh soundly, as Naruto's voice tone was mischievous. "Ok, when you finish…" Hinata laughed harder, making Naruto chuckle, and after a few seconds, he said: "Very well. Now, you've already done as I asked you, kissing me in front of many people, but it's my turn to ask: how is that thing of 'kissing you in private'?"

Hinata simply said:

"Well, that I-I'd just l-l-like you to, um, to kiss me s-sweetly when we're a-alone, Naruto-kun…"

Naruto thought for a bit and then said:

"Well, we are alone now, here in this park. Does it work for you?"

Hinata giggled:

"No, it's not like that, silly." Naruto felt good to see how Hinata felt already more carefree in his treatment towards him, as she kept saying, blushing: "When I mean 'alone', Naruto-kun, I-I mean, um… like, in a place where nobody can see us…"

Naruto was slowly realizing that Hinata's petition looked a lot like the stories Jiraiya made him read, and he asked, cautious:

"You mean, in a place where we can… you know, get intimate of sorts?"

Hinata's blush acquired a red-wine tone, as she nodded, a lot of images racing through her mind. Naruto was about to say something about her red face when he noticed a small drip of blood coming out of her nose. _'Hinata-chan is having a nosebleed… it means that _that_ is what she actually wants… well, then, I hope Jiraiya's __theory lessons__ worked for something.'_ Hinata then whispered:

"Y-Yes, Naruto-kun, t-that's exactly it… oh, Gods…"

Hinata then felt how his body failed to stay firm on the branch, her blood rushing to her face as the rather hot images and scenes overflowed her mind. Naruto jumped to catch her, quickly and promptly taking her to the Whirlpool Hyūga compound, where she lived with her grandfather, Arashi. _'Great, now I have to think of an excuse to explain Hinata-chan's faint spell and her nosebleed. Damn it, why do these things happen to me?'_

End of Episode 5.


	6. Training

A/N: Here comes Episode 6. It took a while longer than expected, as I've started to work on a vacational plan while at the same time dealing with a flu. Please read, enjoy and review, and I hope so far that I'm doing a half decent job so far.

**Episode 6: Training.**

Five months have passed since Naruto and Hinata passed the 'Dream' test. Both the Uzumaki and Whirlpool Hyūga Clans took them under their wings, training them intensely, as Gendō Uzumaki insisted that he wanted them to become full-powered Jōnin for the next year.

Naruto himself had many doubts, all of them concerning the familiar yet mysterious Uzukage. Naruto had never seen him, yet he felt that he could open himself to him quite easily. And not only him: he had realized that also Hinata, and even his own father, when he first met Gendō Uzumaki, both could open themselves quite easily and quickly to him. As he made his research, especially asking his mother, Kushina, and some other familiars, he then had learned that it was some sort of a Clan trait. He had learned that the Uzumaki tend to exhale a kind of aura of confidence and sincerity that allows them to make any person, especially if they are troubled by anything, open themselves towards them, speak frankly and even put their trust on them. Naruto couldn't believe it at first, but then he realized that, even with the massive wrath he felt towards his parents, and with the fact of him never having a single image of his mother before, he felt quite in confidence around Kushina, to the point that he was in capacity to listen to her in such a painful moment, even finding it in his heart to forgive her. Also, he had learned that it was not only an 'aura of confidence and sincerity'; the Uzumaki's main trait was the fact of them being true to their word all the time, always fulfilling their promises and oaths, no matter the cost for themselves, something that he already knew he had, and something that had already defined him in the Leaf.

Thinking about that, he had already realized that he had also inherited the Uzumaki's capability of quickly making trustful and true friends, as he had made friends with the most unthinkable characters: Sasuke Uchiha, the last survivor of the Uchiha Clan and a mentally-ill character obsessed with killing his brother and earning power to restore his Clan, Gaara of the Desert, a tormented and psychotic character who harbored the One-Tailed Raccoon-Dog known as Shukaku (Gaara, as rumor reached his ears, had become Kazekage), two Hokages (well, _three_, as he could account his own father too), the people of the Land of Waves, a Tailed Beast, and many other people who used to despise or belittle him, and who ended up trusting their lives and hopes to him. As Naruto had realized that, he then noticed that he could use that trait during his missions as a ninja, but then, after speaking about that with Hinata, she convinced him that it wasn't exactly a fair way to use it. Naruto then remembered Jiraiya's words.

_Flashback._

_As Naruto and Jiraiya, in one of their many trips through the Five Great Nations and the smaller ones, stepped in a city and decided to rest there for the day, they started chatting a bit. Jiraiya then drew a book and said:_

"_Naruto, I need to talk to you."_

_Naruto got a bit annoyed:_

"_What did I do now?"_

_Jiraiya exhaled air, a bit annoyed too, and said:_

"_Nothing, you did nothing. I just want to ask you a couple of things."_

_Naruto sat down in front of the Toad Sage and waited for the first question, which actually baffled him:_

"_In all these trips we've taken, what have you noticed most in the people?"_

_Naruto thought for a long while, not expecting this kind of deep question at all, and after some seconds, he said:_

"_Well, um, I've noticed that, everywhere, people fight for stupid reasons; several times they search for a reason to fight, and if there's not a reason, they make it up just to fight."_

_Jiraiya smirked at that answer:_

"_Ok, that's good. What else have you noticed?"_

_Naruto said:_

"_Well, I've also noticed a huge distrust, hypocrisy and hatred in the air wherever we go. It's as if every single place we've visited was corrupted on the inside, both in their governments and their societies. Everybody has this lust for power that ends up becoming bloodlust too, and they seem to wish to impose their will on the others at whatever cost. An example of it, as far as I can tell, is Akatsuki."_

_Jiraiya told him:_

"_That's correct, my godson. The greatest issue this ninja world has is what I have called the 'chain of hatred'. The people's constant desire for power and control over everything else gave birth and constantly feeds this chain of hatred. Just having one person who has the interest of imposing his will over the others, sending others to kill each other and enslaving the others is enough to keep this chain of hatred alive, even worse if this one person hides while controlling the strings, what makes of it a coward and a non-person."_

_Naruto asked:_

"_And, how do you break that chain of hatred, Pervy Sage?"_

_Jiraiya thought and said:_

"_I myself haven't found it out yet, Naruto, but I'm quite old already, so I want you to promise me that, if I die before the answer is found, you'll search for it, and find it for me, and for the world, okay?"_

_Naruto, getting serious all of a sudden, nodded and said:_

"_I will do that, Pervy Sage; I promise I will find it one day."_

_End of Flashback._

As Naruto recalled those days, he decided to reveal Hinata his new-found life goal: ending with this 'chain of hatred' Jiraiya talked him about, and Hinata made the oath of sharing the same goal, no matter the cost, no matter what had to be done.

Another doubt that Naruto had was the reasons Gendō had to release Kurama, the Nine-Tailed Fox. As he asked the old Uzukage in person (Naruto had to wait a couple of hours until Gendō finished his 'morning love session' with Aiko), he told him that he knew very well that Kurama would act in behalf of the blonde no matter what, also telling him that he had already dealt with the Death God's Consuming seal before, and that he had seen the Death God face-to-face before, so he didn't fear death anymore. Even so, he confessed Naruto that Kurama asking to be swallowed inside the Death God's belly was a surprise even for him, who was willing to give his own soul in exchange for Naruto's.

Naruto, recalling all these events and information, confessed to Hinata that the very first step he wanted to give towards their common goal was to draw all the Tailed Beasts away from the world, in order for the mankind to stop using them as weapons. Hinata then learned that Kurama himself asked him to do that, almost fainting out of shock, but then she recovered herself, as she **knew **that Naruto had the power to befriend everyone, even a Tailed Beast.

In the Hidden Leaf Village, meanwhile, Tsunade Senju met again with the ninjas of the Nara Clan. She had visited their compound for the second time in the year, and this started bringing some attention to the rather socially uninteresting Clan. Tsunade spoke to them all:

"Ladies and gentlemen, we've got some news from the Hidden Whirlpool Village. They have made their announcement, and they wish for the Nara Clan to resume their labor as Leaf ambassadors in their country."

Team 10 was in the hall, as Tsunade allowed Chōji Akimichi and Ino Yamanaka to assist, their Jōnin instructor, Asuma Sarutobi, being a bit busy in the Shinobi Guard of the Fire Country's Feudal Lord. An elder of the Clan Nara, gray hair and beard and eye-glasses on his face, dressed in a dark-green tunic, said:

"Lady Tsunade, you're putting us in a really troublesome position. It's not unknown that the Hyūga Clan has pushed a lot for becoming the Leaf's diplomatic Clan, with no competition."

Tsunade replied:

"Lord Okubo Nara, I know that better than anyone. I need to show them that they're not here to play for power, and I need them as far from the Whirlpool as possible, and you know the reasons why."

A woman, perhaps on her late thirties, light-brown hair tied in a spiky ponytail, spoke then:

"We're completely aware of that, lady Hokage. Even so, I'm pretty sure that the Hyūga will want to get their revenge against us before speaking to you if they learn that you preferred us for a diplomatic labor rather than them. On the other side, they are already moving their enslaved familiars, kind of desperate to find some information about Hinata's whereabouts. If they learn that we know, I'm sure they will try to get at us no matter the cost, even if they need to kill us all and leave the weakest of us alive to reveal her location under torture."

Tsunade looked at the rather beautiful woman and said:

"Lady Misato Nara, the Hyūga won't do anything against you. I know that you're experts in strategy and you know how all the village's Clans act under every circumstance, but I'm already setting the all-seeing Hyūga eyes on me. I've already 'insulted' the Hyūga several times in a row, so I know that making such an announcement will be prejudicial to both of us. I just won't say a word about it, or at least not yet. I need to prepare the terrain if I'm about to clean the corruption that involves this village, which is quite massive, if I may say."

Shikaku Nara spoke:

"I agree with that, and I'm pretty sure our brother Clans will agree as well, am I right, Ino, Chōji?"

Both Ino and Chōji nodded at the Nara patriarch. Shikamaru spoke then:

"We should also contemplate the scenario of someone from outside aiding the Hyūga in their search. What if, by any means, there's also some corruption inside the Whirlpool itself, and someone inside desires for that village to be drawn out of its stealth? Even when we know the Whirlpool Village's legacy and goals, there can be people who got tired of them and decided to do as they please, seeing Naruto and Hinata as an interesting opportunity to do so."

Tsunade said then, looking at the rather clever Chūnin teenager:

"You're right, Shikamaru, and that will be one of your main labors there at the Whirlpool. I want you to head there and act as the Leaf ambassador in the Whirlpool."

Shikamaru was a lot shocked:

"Um, can't another person do that? I'm already the Leaf ambassador in the Sand."

Tsunade smirked, seeing both Ino and Chōji:

"You don't say that because of your relationship with the Sand ambassador in here, right?"

Shikamaru blushed deeply, trying to hide his blush from the gossip girl he had as partner in Team 10, who lived completely jealous of the mentioned character:

"Nngh, you women are so troublesome!"

Tsunade laughed soundly:

"Yes, I knew it was that. Don't worry; as I know you'll need help, I've already sent a letter to Lord Kazekage, and he has approved to send Temari of the Desert with you to that location. Perhaps you'll be able to get in touch with Naruto and with the Uzukage, and perhaps they could include the Hidden Sand Village as allies too."

Shikamaru's blush turned deeper, as he was embarrassed on the outside and happy on the inside. He breathed deeply and said, as his colors returned slowly to normal:

"Very well, I shall take that mission, Lady Hokage. I'd like to have Team 10 backing my labor up too. I work well with them, and they're well versed in gathering information and in strategic work. Also, Temari is also familiar with Team 10's teamwork. When shall we go?"

Tsunade announced, giving Shikamaru a sealed scroll:

"Right now. I'll send you a report every week. Temari will meet you at the village south from the Hidden Whirlpool Village in two days, as she must be already on her way there. Meet with her, as she must have a similar scroll than the one I'm giving you, then you all get in the village and give the Uzukage the scrolls. Once you get accepted, you report back via messenger hawk, and I'll send you what you have to do once there. Now, let's get ready to leave."

Shikaku asked:

"And what will you do with the Sand?"

Tsunade said:

"I've already discussed it with Gaara. We'll give the vacant position to a Hyūga, just to keep them content for a while, and in order to watch how they handle that ounce of power I'm giving them. I need to know how power-lusty they are, in order to know how to guard myself and the village, and also in order to know how important is having Hinata under their control for them."

The patriarch replied:

"I understand: you want them to have the initiative in order to catch them under their first slip-up. That's quite clever, but you must keep your intentions hidden, and you cannot make your pressure too evident."

Tsunade nodded and said:

"That's right, Lord Shikaku. Well, kids, I'll take you to the East Gate, and give you some money, so you can buy food and equipment in the town to the east from here. Let's go."

Team 10 nodded and left the Nara compound behind the Hokage.

Meanwhile, in the Hidden Whirlpool Village, Naruto and Hinata kept under their massive training sessions. They were going to be evaluated for the Chūnin degree in a month, and, even when they had already fulfilled several D-rank, C-rank and even a couple of B-rank missions for the Whirlpool (not counting the ones they accomplished for the Leaf, of course), they still needed to train and to comprehend a lot of things.

Naruto and Minato kept training a lot with the Toads, as Minato insisted that Naruto had to learn the Sage Mode as much as he did. Tough meditation sessions in a huge area of giant sharp spikes in which Naruto had to stay still in order to feel what the Elder Toads called the 'Natural Chakra', so as in order to balance it with his own chakra sources, kept him busy during a good four months until he could master it for good, and now he was learning the secrets of the Sage mode, like enhanced physical conditions, chakra sensing capabilities, a lot less effort in using chakra skills and a lot slower exhaustion of his own reserves, and also some other things that he'd discover that could actually power-up his new-learned skills considerably.

Naruto, who was under the training of both his parents, had been quickly learning a lot from both. Minato taught him how to handle Lightning Chakra, which Naruto inherited from him, and Kushina taught him how to handle Air Chakra, which he inherited from her. Also, he learned both his fighting style and hers, which were quite fitting to both his elemental affinities. Soon enough, Naruto had discovered one of the things that had made both his parents so deadly: both developed the very own fighting style created by the Sage of the Six Paths, each one of them handling the element that corresponded to them: Kushina had the called "Swirl stance", which all of the Whirlpool ninjas who had Air affinity learned, and it based on circular movements, jumps and shifts, circular attacks and lots of dodging. It could be mixed with the Air chakra without needing to make hand signs at all. On the other hand, Minato had the called "Shocking stance", which all of the Whirlpool ninjas who had Lightning affinity learned, and that he was taught as a token of appreciation from the Hidden Whirlpool Village for his efforts and secrecy. It consisted of quick and precise movements, mostly straight attacks and blocking movements, which also had several grasping movements for attack and defense. This style could be mixed with the Lightning chakra without needing to make hand signs at all. With all this, Naruto had become a true master of the Lightning and the Air, as he just manipulated them with his will, his Natural chakra being a special power-up for this ability, no need of hand signs, no need of standing still and focusing for a while in order to shape the elemental forces, and almost with no exhaustion.

Under Kushina's training, Naruto had been learning his Clan's bloodline traits: the Chakra Chains, which proved to be quite difficult for Naruto to handle, and which Kushina commanded him to use as chakra-control training, having quite improving results over his over-all chakra control; the Blood Healing, which allowed every Uzumaki to heal its wounds with just a bit of its own blood, also being capable of healing other people's wounds as well; and at last, the Sealing techniques. Naruto was quite a lot entertained with this part of the training, as he discovered that the seals worked for _everything_, even for things as summoning any deity, and this made Naruto even more eager to train, as, if summoning the Death God in the right moment, he could fulfill his plan of taking the Tailed Beasts out of the vicious mankind's hands. Another thing Kushina was focused on training Naruto with was the weapons fighting. Naruto had been learning how to handle every single kind of blades, from the smallest ones like a tanto to the long ones like a naginata or a spear.

Hinata trained really hard under Kushina's twin sister, Megumi Uzumaki, a beautiful yet powerful woman who was just like Kushina, excepting that she wore different colors, and her husband, a man who was casually named Neji Hyūga, just like her Leaf cousin, and who resulted to be her mother Hitomi's brother. She even thought that she'd have to put a nickname to her Leaf cousin, as she seemed to like this Neji a lot more.

Neji taught Hinata to reach the first three levels of the Byakugan. Hinata had learned, during her uncle Neji's lessons, that the Leaf Hyūga made the terrible mistake of making themselves completely dependent on their eyes, and he taught her that, for a Whirlpool Hyūga, the first training stage was called 'the Black Stage'. It explained that a Hyūga had to be as deadly with his eyes as without them, this meaning that she had to defend herself, dodge attacks, and even strike at her enemies while completely blindfolded, no eye-technique allowed. She quickly discovered that the Whirlpool Hyūga like her were natural sensors, each one of their senses being as powerful as the Byakugan-active eyes, and she was more than marveled to discover that, as she could finally defeat the Byakugan's blind spot that the Leaf Hyūga feared so much and hid so fiercely. Then, when she reached the second stage, 'the White Stage', she realized that, even when she couldn't _see_ as much as the Leaf Hyūga with their Byakugan, she could actually **perceive** chakra with all of her senses, this allowing her to detect her enemies a lot easier just by perceiving their chakra with any sense. Then, it was the turn of the 'Silver Stage', which made her eyes turn totally silver, reducing the size of her popped veins. She had learned so far that this made of a Whirlpool Hyūga a faster, more agile, stronger, more resilient and higher in its chakra control, as it enhanced its chakra circulatory system in order to use higher amounts of chakra with the same devilish control, also enhancing its limbs and body. For this moment, Hinata's chakra pool were truly huge, something unthinkable for a Leaf Hyūga, and certainly unthinkable for many other shinobi, as Hinata calculated that her chakra reserves were, more or less, as high as Tsunade's reserves. Neji had promised Hinata that she could learn the last stage, called 'the Gold Stage', when she could reach Naruto's actual reserves.

Megumi, quite a very funny and likely character, trained Hinata like a slave driver, making her chakra reserves grow a lot. With her, Hinata learned that her chakra affinities were Water and Fire, both perfectly usable with her 'dance-like' stance, and working perfectly. Hinata learned from Megumi the capability of combining her stance with those elements, and eventually she had started mastering the capability of using her elemental affinities with no need of hand signs, but just by pure will and imagination, and Hinata had a bit of a rough time to learn this, but she could finally master it and become a powerful kunoichi. She had also her share of instruction in the sealing department, as she desired to get rid of the Caged Bird in order to bring justice to the Leaf Hyūga for good, and also with the weapons department, quickly learning all about blades and pole-blades, and now learning about chained weapons. All these training fields Hinata had been acquiring had been completely forbidden by the Leaf Hyūga elders, as they deemed those skills as impure and worthless.

Right now, as Hinata was resting at her home, received a visit from her grandfather, Arashi Hyūga, who sat in the couch, right beside her, and spoke:

"Hi, Hinata-chan, how are you doing?"

Hinata was tired:

"This training is d-draining me, L-Lord Arashi…"

Arashi chuckled:

"You're still too formal, Hinata-chan. I'm your grandfather, more than a Clan Elder to you, so please call me 'gramps' from now on. Naruto-kun calls Lord Uzukage like that and he doesn't seem to have any issue with that, so I shouldn't either."

Hinata blushed a bit, trying to adapt herself:

"Um, o-okay, **gramps**."

Arashi smiled:

"That's a lot better, you see? You made me smile, Hinata." Hinata smiled at the old man, a bit more relaxed, and then Arashi drew a scroll from a large backpack: "I actually came to give this to you, as you'll need it a lot, even more if you're joining Naruto-kun for good."

Hinata looked at the rather huge scroll and asked:

"W-What is that, g-gramps?"

Arashi grinned at her:

"This, my dear, is the greatest secret of the Whirlpool Hyūga, and we want you to share it with us. It will let you know different characters, it will help you train and acquire the fabulous abilities Naruto is displaying right now (and even more, but don't you ever say that to him, heh, heh), it will let you learn a lot more about our Clan, and it will allow you to become an even more fearsome kunoichi, Hinata-chan."

Hinata still looked at the huge scroll, a bit dumbstruck:

"A-And, h-how is this h-huge scroll g-going to help me with that, gramps?"

Arashi spoke then:

"This, my dear, is the very own Summoning Contract the Sage of the Six Paths gave to us, the Whirlpool Hyūga: the Dragon Summoning Contract. It has been signed only by the fairest and the kindest of the Whirlpool Hyūga ever, and it is your turn to sign it."

These words were enough to make Hinata faint.

End of Episode 6.


End file.
